analyzed its biological, biophysical, and biochemical aspects. The excellence 

 of the articles justified the extension of this series from the originally planned 

 three volumes to the present six. 



The first two chapters of vol. 6 deal with the nucleus and the cytoplasm of 

 Protozoa. They are followed by an excellent chapter on the genetics of fungi. 

 The concluding chapters discuss form, function, and ultrastructure of plant 

 cells, sensory cells, and connective tissue cells. 



Contributors: Cordicr (Bruxelles), Esscr (Koln), Fitton Jackson (Cambridge), Grell 

 (Tubingen), Raper (Cambridge, Mass.), Trager (New York, N.Y.), Voeller (New York, N.Y.) 



4. CYBERNETICS AND BIOLOGY 



1965 

 by F, H. George Oliver & Boyd 



146 pp., 18 figs. Edinburgh — London 

 (paper-bound) Price 12 s. 6 d. 



Since mathematical and semi-mathematical models are increasingly used in 

 attempts to explain developmental processes, we thought it of interest to bring 

 this booklet to the attention of our readers. Although it does not concern itself 

 with problems of development, it constitutes a useful, brief introduction into 

 the fundamentals of cybernetic thinking, with particular reference to the 

 nervous system and behaviour, and with a minimal use of mathematics. The 

 author is a psychologist by origin, and has written a well-known book called 

 "The brain as a computer". 



5. TEMPORAL ORGANIZATION IN CELLS 

 A dynamic theory of cellular control processes 



1963 

 by B. C. Goodwin Academic Press 



163 pp., 11 figs. London — New York 



This is an unusual type of book to be reviewed in this periodical. The 

 author's aim has been to present an analysis of the statistical behaviour of the 

 interacting cellular control systems which are assumed to underlie the temporal 

 organization of cells. To this end he introduces variables analogous to quan- 

 tities known from thermodynamics. He emphasizes that he does not wish to 

 apply classical thermodynamics to the study of cell behaviour, but to lay a new 

 molecular foundation, in terms of cellular control processes, for a "thermo- 

 dynamic-like" analysis of cellular properties. In other words, the mathematical 

 structure of statistical physics is used for the development of essentially new 

 notions. These notions are given the same names as variables of classical 

 thermodynamics, such as temperature, entropy, and energy, but they are pre- 

 fixed by the adjective "talandic", a neologism derived from the Greek "talan- 

 tosis" (meaning oscillation), emphasizing the fact that all these quantities are 

 properties of a system whose fundamental dynamic characteristic is the 

 occurrence of oscillations. 



The book contains a considerable amount of formal mathematics. However, 

 the author claims that the greater part of the text can be read without close 

 attention to mathematical treatment. In fact, the treatment of the subject as a 

 whole is by no means exclusively formal. The theory is confronted with known 

 experimental results in many places, and new experiments are suggested by 



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