124 research outputs found
The Value of Information for Populations in Varying Environments
The notion of information pervades informal descriptions of biological
systems, but formal treatments face the problem of defining a quantitative
measure of information rooted in a concept of fitness, which is itself an
elusive notion. Here, we present a model of population dynamics where this
problem is amenable to a mathematical analysis. In the limit where any
information about future environmental variations is common to the members of
the population, our model is equivalent to known models of financial
investment. In this case, the population can be interpreted as a portfolio of
financial assets and previous analyses have shown that a key quantity of
Shannon's communication theory, the mutual information, sets a fundamental
limit on the value of information. We show that this bound can be violated when
accounting for features that are irrelevant in finance but inherent to
biological systems, such as the stochasticity present at the individual level.
This leads us to generalize the measures of uncertainty and information usually
encountered in information theory
Chromosome damage in underground coal miners: detection by conventional cytogenetic techniques and by submitting lymphocytes of unexposed individuals to plasma from at-risk groups
Production and characterization of poly-3-hydroxybutyrate from crude glycerol by Bacillus sphaericus NII 0838 and improving its thermal properties by blending with other polymers
Buying and selling feeder cattle in Illinois : a study of current practices and costs
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Frozen food storage facilities used by Illinois families : an economic analysis of some trends and problems in the use of lockers and home units
Cover title.Includes bibliographical references
Price differences between four hog markets used by Illinois stockmen : Chicago, East St. Louis, Indianapolis, and Cincinnati
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