The theory of metabolism-repair systems (Q1113850)

The theory of metabolism-repair systems is a mathematical extension to classical control systems that embodies self referential systems. In systems of this type there is internal control of the system by means of boundary conditions on repair and replication maps. In effect, these boundary conditions imply that the cell ``knows'' what its supposed to be doing, and can utilize the repair and replication machinery to correct its own behavior if outside forces perturb it away from design specifications. In short, the scheme gives a way of incorporating the idea of ``self reference'' into the mathematical formalism used to study living processes. This paper also considers problems of growth, differentiation, and Lamarckian inheritance. A number of possible applications from the areas of cellular biology, economics and manufacturing are discussed.