EquationsOfLife - Keithl wiki

The Equations Of Life

p024 active matter physics, Tamás Vicsek
p026 formula for probability of ant choosing a pheromone trail marked by a prior ant or ants, not usable without examples and numbers
p027 formulas obscured when many ants swarm towards multiple goals
p028 self-organizing behavior, not supervised but seeming so
p034 birds save energy by flying in formation and coordinating wing beats, minimizing downwash effects
p035 18yo Cockell in the Canadian north, banding birds caught in nets, then released
- different ducks behaved differently, unique individual "personalities"
p035 Physics trumps individuality
p036 cellular cytoskeleton proteins self-organize
p037 kinesin (anterograde) and myosin (retrograde) motor molecules crawl along polar tubulin filaments

p061 mole tolerance of high CO₂ Talpidae "true moles" in Europe, Asia, North America; marsupials in Australia with similar shape and burrowing physics
p067 no propellers on fish, but flagella on microbes, 600 body lengths per second
p068 low Reynolds numbers at small scale, viscosity dominates inertia
p069 On Growth and Form 1917, by D'Arcy Wentworth Thompson
p070 "first serious attempt to demonstrate the mathematical regularity of life"
p070 some accuse Thompson of vitalism; instead, life is bounded by laws
p072 Homeobox Hox genes control limb development
p076 biological inherency, similar structures modified to suit laws prevailing in different environments
p077 pink frogmouth walks across sea floor on modified fins
p077 transition from sea to land "required several experiments to succeed"
p080 SSH Sonic Hedgehog protein gene signals limb formation, suppressed in snakes