LNCS 2950 - Aspects of Molecular Computing (Frontmatter Pages)

320 Solomon Marcus
identified with the spatio-temporal organization of gene expressions through the
control of DNA folding patterns via conformational (or noncovalent) interactions,
while the second articulation is identified with the linear arrangement of
nucleotides to form structural genes through covalent (or configurational) interactions.
Ji rediscovers another duality at the level of proteins, where the second
articulation is identified with covalent structures, while the first articulation is
identified with the three-dimensional structures of polypeptides formed through
conformational (or noncovalent) interactions. As it can be seen, for Ji there are
a total of four articulations of the genetic language and the condition of linearity
and sequentiality of a language structure is no longer satisfied. The concept of a
language as a special sign system is in question, and it is no longer clear where
is the border, if there exists such a border, between an arbitrary sign-system
and a language-like sign system. Both Martinet [13] and Lyons ([9] page 74-76)
stress the link between duality and arbitrariness. Duality points out to some
limits of the arbitrariness of the linguistic sign. Can we speak, equivalently, of
the arbitrariness of the “genetic sign”? To what extent is heredity the result of
the combinatorial game expressed by the first articulation, under the limits and
the freedom imposed by the second articulation?
References
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