Entropy 2011, 13(2), 518-527; doi:10.3390/e13020518
Review

The Nature of Stability in Replicating Systems

Nathaniel Wagneremail and Addy Pross* email
Department of Chemistry, Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Be’er Sheva 84105, Israel
* Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Received: 14 December 2010; in revised form: 14 January 2011 / Accepted: 10 February 2011 / Published: 15 February 2011
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Emergence in Chemical Systems)
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Abstract: We review the concept of dynamic kinetic stability, a type of stability associated specifically with replicating entities, and show how it differs from the well-known and established (static) kinetic and thermodynamic stabilities associated with regular chemical systems. In the process we demonstrate how the concept can help bridge the conceptual chasm that continues to separate the physical and biological sciences by relating the nature of stability in the animate and inanimate worlds, and by providing additional insights into the physicochemical nature of abiogenesis.
Keywords: thermodynamic stability; kinetic stability; equilibrium; steady state; life; complexity; teleonomy

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MDPI and ACS Style

Wagner, N.; Pross, A. The Nature of Stability in Replicating Systems. Entropy 2011, 13, 518-527.

AMA Style

Wagner N, Pross A. The Nature of Stability in Replicating Systems. Entropy. 2011; 13(2):518-527.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Wagner, Nathaniel; Pross, Addy. 2011. "The Nature of Stability in Replicating Systems." Entropy 13, no. 2: 518-527.

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