Final CALL FOR PAPERS: 1999 Agora Meeting on Fluctuations in Biological Systems

Tue Jun 1 17:52:53 EDT 1999

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               2nd Announcement and Final Call For Papers

        1999 Agora Meeting on Fluctuations in Biological Systems

                                Agora'99
                            Sigtuna, Sweden
                            August 3-7, 1999

                              Organized by
                          Agora for Biosystems

                              Sponsored by
        International Union for Pure and Applied Physics (IUPAP)
    Swedish Council for Planning and Coordination of Research (FRN)

    >>>>>>DEADLINE for abstract submission extended to: June 15, 1999
                                <<<<<<<

                  More information and registration at
             http://www.theophys.kth.se/~hali/agora/agora99
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SCOPE
This interdiscplinary conference on fluctuations in biological systems
will be held in the small old town of Sigtuna, Sweden, Aug 3-7, 1999,
and is following upon a series of workshops, where the first was held in
Sigtuna, Sep 4-9 1995 (Sigtuna Workshop 95). The approach on these
meetings is theoretical as well as experimental, and the meetings are
intended to attract participants from various fields, such as biology,
physics, and computer science. A number of invited speakers will provide
presentations on the fundamental problems, but participants are invited
to submit abstracts on topics related to those listed below. The number
of participants is limited to approx. 150.

MOTIVATION
Life is normally associated with a high degree of order and
organization. However, disorder -- in various contexts referred to as
fluctuations, noise or chaos -- is also a crucial component of many
biological processes. For example, in evolution random errors in the
reproduction of the genetic material provides a variation that is
fundamental for the selection of adaptive organisms. At a molecular
level, thermal fluctuations govern the movements and functions of the
macromolecules in the cell. Yet, it is also clear that too large a
variation may have disastrous effects. Uncontrolled processes need
stabilizing mechanisms. More knowledge of the stability requirements of
biological processes is needed in order to better understand these
problems, which also have important medical applications. Many diseases,
for instance certain degenerations of brain cells, are caused by failure
of the stabilizing mechanisms in the cell. Stability is also important
and difficult to achieve in biotechnological applications.

There is also randomness in structure and function of the neural
networks of the brain. Spontaneous firing of neurons seems to be
important for maintaining an adequate level of activity, but does this
"neuronal noise" have any other significance? What are the effects of
errors and fluctuations in the information processing of the brain? Can
these microscopic fluctuations be amplified to provide macroscopic
effects? Often, one cannot easily determine whether an apparently random
process is due to noise, governed by uncontrolled degrees of freedom, or
if it is a result of "deterministic chaos". Would the difference be of
any importance for biology? Especially, could chaos, which is
characterized by sensitivity and divergence, be useful for any kind of
information processing that normally depends upon stability and
convergence?

OBJECTIVE
The objective of this meeting is to address questions and problems
related to those above, for a deeper understanding of the effects of
disorder in biological systems. Fluctuations and chaos have been
extensively studied in physics, but to a much lesser degree in biology.
Important concepts from physics, such as "noise-induced state
transitions" and "controlled chaos" could also be of relevance for
biological systems. Yet, little has been done about such applications
and a more critical analysis of the positive and negative effects of
disorder for living systems is needed. It is essential to make concrete
and testable hypotheses, and to avoid the kind of superficial and more
fashionable treatment that often dominates the field. By bringing
together scientists with knowledge and insights from different
disciplines we hope to shed more light on these problems, which we think
are profound for understanding the phenomenon of life.

TOPICS
Topics include various aspects, experimental as well as theoretical, on
fluctuations, noise and chaos, in biological systems at a microscopic
(molecular), mesoscopic (cellular), and macroscopic (network and
systems) level.

Contributions are welcome regarding, among others, the following topics:

- Biological signals and noise
- Neural information processing
- Synaptic fluctuations
- Spontaneous neural firing
- Macromolecular dynamics
- Dynamics of microtubuli
- Ion channel kinetics
- Cell motility
- Medical implications

INVITED SPEAKERS
Per Andersen, Oslo University, Norway
Hans Braun, University of Marburg, Germany
Franco Conti, Istituto di Cibernetica e Biofisica, CNR, Genova, Italy
Louis DeFelice, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, USA
Hans Frauenfelder, Los Alamos National Laboratory, New Mexico, USA
John Hopfield, Princeton University, USA
Fernan Jaramillo, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, USA
Stanislas Leibler, Princeton University, USA
Uno Lindberg, Stockholm University, Sweden
Koichiro Matsuno, Nagaoka University of Technology, Japan
Erik Mosekilde, Technical University of Denmark, Lyngby
Frank Moss, University of Missouri, St Louis, USA
Sakire P=F6gun, Center for Brain Research, Ege University, Turkey
Stephen Traynelis, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, USA
Horst Vogel, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Lausanne,
Switzerland
Peter Wolynes, University of Illinois, USA
James J. Wright, University of Melbourne, Australia
Mikhail Zhadin, Institute of Cell Biophysics, Pushchino, Russia

PRE-REGISTRATION and abstract submission can preferably be done via the
Agora'99 home page:
http://www.theophys.kth.se/~hali/agora/agora99

REGISTRATION FEES
Regular: 1500 SEK (ca 190 USD)   before June1      ----  2000 SEK  after
June 1
Students: 800 SEK (ca 100 USD)    before June 1     ---- 1000 SEK
after June 1

DEADLINE for abstract submission: June 15, 1999.

FURTHER INFORMATION available from:
Hans Liljenstrom
Theoretical Physics
Royal Institute of Technology
SE-100 44 Stockholm, Sweden
and
Agora for Biosystems
Box 57, SE-193 22 Sigtuna, Sweden

Phone:    +46-8-790 7167
Fax:        +46-8-10 48 79
Email:    hali at theophys.kth.se
WWW: http://www.theophys.kth.se/~hali