Abstract
IN a recent paper1, Leo Szilard has shown that a system consisting of an enzyme, an enzyme-forming apparatus and a repressor may be able to exist in two stable states, provided the combining energies between the various components of this system lie within certain ranges of magnitude. The two stable states which can exist contain either high or low concentrations of the enzyme. If the concentration of the enzyme or the repressor is changed by external manipulation, the system returns to one or the other of the stable states. Such a system was termed ‘para-constitutive’ by Szilard, and its possible biological significance in differentiation and antibody formation2 was suggested by him.
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References
Szilard, L., Proc. U.S. Nat. Acad. Sci., 46, 277 (1960).
Szilard, L., Proc. U.S. Nat. Acad. Sci., 46, 293 (1960).
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ANKER, H. A Possible Biochemical Mechanism for Memory. Nature 188, 938 (1960). https://doi.org/10.1038/188938a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/188938a0
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