Growth and Replication of Living Organisms: General Law of Growth and Replication and the Unity of Biochemical and Physical Mechanisms

This book is a continuation of previous studies of growth mechanisms by the same author. Results of earlier research have been published in books and scientific journals. This time, the growth mechanisms are considered both from the physical and biochemical perspectives. These two types of growth mechanisms form a single mechanism that governs the growth of living organisms. The findings relate and connect numerous aspects and specific features of growth and replication, which previously were considered as unrelated fragments, into a single growth and replication phenomenon governed by a general law of Nature. It was discovered that the answer to the growth puzzle resides both in the physical and biochemical realms, with the leading role being played by the physical, spatial characteristics of organisms. Geometrical characteristics of an organism define the value of the growth ratio, which in turn defines the distribution of nutritional resources between the maintenance needs and the biomass synthesis. The fraction of nutritional resources diverted to the biomass synthesis defines the amount of synthesized biomass, and through this, the composition of biochemical reactions. Thus, during the growth, combined changes in organism's geometry and related changes of influx of nutrients influence the composition of biochemical reactions in such a way that organisms progress through the whole growth cycle. The material is well presented. Any person interested in the subject and familiar with the basics of physics and biology will understand the presented concepts and the whole content, which is much facilitated by numerous graphical illustrations and numerical examples.