Wave breaking of periodic solutions to the Fornberg-Whitham equation

Based on recent well-posedness results in Sobolev (or Besov spaces) for periodic solutions to the Fornberg-Whitham equations we investigate here the questions of wave breaking and blow-up for these solutions. We show first that finite maximal life time of a solution necessarily leads to wave breaking. Second, we prove that for a certain class of initial wave profiles the corresponding solutions do indeed blow-up in finite time

Artificial and Natural Genetic Information Processing

Conventional methods of genetic engineering and more recent genome editing techniques focus on identifying genetic target sequences for manipulation. This is a result of historical concept of the gene which was also the main assumption of the ENCODE project designed to identify all functional elements in the human genome sequence. However, the theoretical core concept changed dramatically. The old concept of genetic sequences which can be assembled and manipulated like molecular bricks has problems in explaining the natural genome-editing competences of viruses and RNA consortia that are able to insert or delete, combine and recombine genetic sequences more precisely than random-like into cellular host organisms according to adaptational needs or even generate sequences de novo. Increasing knowledge about natural genome editing questions the traditional narrative of mutations (error replications) as essential for generating genetic diversity and genetic content arrangements in biological systems. This may have far-reaching consequences for our understanding of artificial genome editing

First-order hyperbolic pseudodifferential equations with generalized symbols

We consider the Cauchy problem for a hyperbolic pseudodifferential operator whose symbol is generalized, resembling a representative of a Colombeau generalized function. Such equations arise, for example, after a reduction-decoupling of second-order model systems of differential equations in seismology. We prove existence of a unique generalized solution under log-type growth conditions on the symbol, thereby extending known results for the case of differential operators with generalized functions as coefficients

Roll a Hard Six: Losing Your Noodle in Raymond Federman’s Double or Nothing

Raymond Federman’s Double or Nothing is a convoluted representation of the mentallyunstable mind existing as a series of six characters that are at once separate and conjoined: the horrors and traumatic events of the narrative past dismantle the unified subject into a series of schizophrenic sub-personalities, parts of the destabilized Author’s psyche, existing as separate fragments that eventually collide. Further, the imaginary room emerges as the Fifth Person, promising, but failing, to be a central stabilizer of the other fractured selves. Finally, the design of the text echoes the patterns of the traumatized mind, illustrating the inability of a narrative to construct a stable, unified subject and demonstrating the inadequacy of traditional narrative forms. The text, with its obliterations, cropped phrases, and pictorial manifestations, becomes the Sixth Person. However, in the end, the text shows that the past cannot be erased, explained, or reversed; neither can the experimental nature of the novel reach beyond the traumatized, schizoid subject to represent the horrors of the past that caused the Author’s psychotic breach. Federman has rolled a hard six that will repeatedly fragment and unite, just as the traumatic past continues to repeat itself as one that defies representation

Telomeres in Evolution and Development from Biosemiotic Perspective

Telomeres identify natural chromosome ends being different from broken DNA through differences in their "molecular syntax" (M.Eigen) which determines the functions of reverse transcriptase and its integrated RNA template, telomerase. Although telomeres play a crucial role in the linear chromosome organization of eukaryotic cells, their molecular syntax descended from an ancient retroviral competence. This is an indicator for the early retroviral colonization of large double stranded DNA viruses, which are putative ancestors of the eukaryotic nucleus.
This talk will demonstrate certain advantages of the biosemiotic approach towards our evolutionary understanding of telomeres: focus on the genetic/genomic structures as language-like text which follows combinatorial (syntactic), context-sensitive (pragmatic) and
content-specific (semantic) semiotic rules. Genetic/genomic organization from the biosemiotic perspective is not seen any longer as an object of randomly derived alterations (mutations) but as functional innovation coherent with the broad variety of natural genome editing competences of viruses.
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Biocommunication of Fungal Organisms

The development and growth of fungal organisms depend on successful communication processes (a) within the organism and between organisms, (b) with the same or related species and (c) with non-related organisms. In order to generate an appropriate response behaviour, fungal organisms must also be able to (d) correctly interpret meaningful information from the abiotic environment. However, these communication and interpretation processes can also fail. In such cases the overall results can induce disease-causing and even lethal consequences for the organism. 

	This review will not enrich the knowledge of specialists in fungal research, but will demonstrate to a broader readership the different levels of fungal communication and how versatile fungal communicative competences really are. Interestingly, certain rules of fungal communication are very similar to those of animals, while others resemble those of plants. The correspondence between all three eukaryotic kingdoms has two aspects: (1) the context determines the meaning of trans-, inter- and intra-organismic (inter- and intracellular) communication, while (2) differences in abiotic and biotic signal perception determine the content arrangement of response behaviour

What is Life?

In searching for life in extraterrestrial space, it is essential to act based on an unequivocal definition of life. In the twentieth century, life was defined as cells that self-replicate, metabolize, and are open for mutations, without which genetic information would remain unchangeable, and evolution would be impossible. Current definitions of life derive from statistical mechanics, physics, and chemistry of the twentieth century in which life is considered to function machine like, ignoring a central role of communication. Recent observations show that context-dependent meaningful communication and network formation (and control) are central to all life forms. Evolutionary relevant new nucleotide sequences now appear to have originated from social agents such as viruses, their parasitic relatives, and related RNA networks, not from errors. By applying the known features of natural languages and communication, a new twenty-first century definition of life can be reached in which communicative interactions are central to all processes of life. A new definition of life must integrate the current empirical knowledge about interactions between cells, viruses, and RNA networks to provide a better explanatory power than the twentieth century narrative