FROM ENTROPY TO INFORMATION - THE PHYSICAL-CHEMISTRY OF LIVING MATTER

Hundred years ago physical chemistry was mainly concerned with equilibrium properties of macroscopic systems of matter. Energy and entropy were the basic concepts underlying various applications of the laws of thermodynamics. Particle physics and cosmology of our times have uncovered the limits of our understanding of these basic concepts. We had to learn ''how strange the universe'' is, before we may realize ''how simple it is'' (J.A. Wheeler, 1973). Physical chemistry of our days is increasingly dealing with material self-organization far from equilibrium. A new concept is that of molecular storage and processing of information. This concept provides a physico-chemical understanding of living matter. The paper describes necessary and sufficient conditions for generating information in molecular systems. The theoretical results are confronted with experimental findings obtained in vitro and in vivo.