"This is by far the most rigorous and in-depth re-examination of the sufficiency of neo-Darwinian theory. Never have so many well-credentialed scientists, representing so many disciplines, united so effectively to look beyond the standard mutation-selection paradigm." - The Editors

WACO, Texas, Aug. 12, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- World Scientific Publishing has just released the proceedings of a symposium held in the spring of 2011, where a diverse group of scientists gathered at Cornell University to critically re-examine neo-Darwinian theory. This symposium brought together experts in information theory, computer science, numerical simulation, thermodynamics, evolutionary theory, whole organism biology, developmental biology, molecular biology, genetics, physics, biophysics, mathematics, and linguistics.                 

This is a milestone book. For over 100 years, it has been very widely believed that the mutation/selection process is sufficient to explain virtually everything within the biological realm. The 29 contributors to this volume bring into serious question this neo-Darwinian paradigm. They use their wide-ranging expertise to carefully examine a series of fundamental theoretical problems that are now emerging. These problems all relate to the exploding field of biological information. Biological information is becoming the primary focus of 21^st century biological research. Within each cell there are information systems surpassing the best human information technologies. These systems create what is essentially a biological internet within each cell. The authors, although holding diverse philosophical perspectives, unanimously agree that the mutation/selection process is not adequate to explain the labyrinth of informational networks that are essential for life.

Several clear themes emerged from the research papers within this volume: 1) Information is indispensable to our understanding of what life is; 2) Biological information is more than the molecular structures that embody it; 3) Conventional chemical and evolutionary mechanisms are insufficient to fully explain the labyrinth of information that is life.

The book, Biological Information – New Perspectives, was edited by R. Marks, M. Behe, W. Dembski, B. Gordon, and J. Sanford. This volume presents 24 technical papers summarizing the research findings of 29 contributing scientists. The 24 technical papers are open access, and can be freely downloaded from http://www.worldscientific.com/worldscibooks/10.1142/8818#t=toc . Additional information about the book is available at the same site. The book is available from World Scientific Publishing, Amazon.com, and FMSpub.org .

Source: FMS Foundation, sponsor of the proceedings. For more information contact Dr. Robert Marks at Baylor University (Robert_Marks@baylor.edu ; Phone: 254-710-7302).

SOURCE FMS Foundation