Table of Contents with graphics and descriptions

2006 Australian journal of chemistry (Print)  
Aust. J. Chem. 2006, 59, 865-868. In his seminal 1972 paper More is Different, Philip Anderson employed the correspondence between the symmetries of space-time and the conservation laws of physics to state an elegant concept of emergence. In this account we explore some of the notions put forward by Anderson. We show, through the use of examples, how macroscopic symmetry breaking is an important factor in the formation of system-level order from chemical reactions through to the organization of
more » ... ecosystems. Complex systems science provides a novel way of thinking about dynamic systems through emergence and self-organization approaches. These still poorly comprehended concepts are presented herein with reference to chemical and biological systems. The well known Biochemical Pathways wall chart has been converted into a molecule and reaction database, BioPath. A major feature of BioPath is that for each transformation the reaction centre and the atoms and bonds directly involved in the bond rearrangement process are marked. This rich database can in turn be mined to find inhibitors for biochemical reactions and to lead to a novel classification of enzymes. A web-based structure and reaction retrieval system, described within, provides a wide range of search methods.
doi:10.1071/chv59n12toc fatcat:6d7k4myqbngefdjzjvjmiwn5xi