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Symmetry
Special Issues
Biology and Symmetry/Asymmetry Section: Feature Review/Article Papers
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Biology and Symmetry/Asymmetry Section: Feature Review/Article Papers

A special issue of Symmetry (ISSN 2073-8994). This special issue belongs to the section "Life Sciences".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 May 2023) | Viewed by 4676

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Alejandro F. Villaverde

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Systems Engineering and Control, University of Vigo, Vigo, Spain
Interests: systems biology; control theory; systems identification; observability; identifiability
Dr. Sachin Gulati

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Radiobiology, Cancer Research Institute, Biomedical Research Center v.v.i., Slovak Academy of Sciences, 845 05 Bratislava, Slovakia
Interests: radiation biology; electromagnetic radiation (EMR); risk assessment of EMR; radiofrequency carcinogenicity; radiotherapeutical science; radiosensitivity of cancer patients; microwave radiation impact on public health; genotoxicity; cytotoxicity; DNA repair; biochemical genetics

Special Issue Information

Dear colleagues,

As Associate Section Editor-in-Chief for “Biology and Symmetry”, I am happy to announce the latest Special Issue, “Biology and Symmetry Section: Review Papers”. This Special Issue aims to cover recent advances in all aspects of symmetry in the biological and molecular sciences, including the arts and humanities.

Symmetries—that is, objects or properties that are invariant under some mathematical transformation—are ubiquitous in biology and other sciences. Symmetries may occur in three-dimensional space, as in the symmetrical geometry of organisms or molecules. The classic notion of symmetry is evident in the morphology of viruses, molecules, and living organisms (microorganisms, plants, fungi, animals). Symmetry in time is a fourth dimension, which can occur, for example, in symmetrical enzymatic reactions, animal and human behaviors, and symmetrical dynamics in general. There may also be symmetries of scale, such as fractals in nature and art. Broken symmetries, which often denote relevant biological features, are also subject to study. A more detailed account of the different aspects of symmetry in biology can be found in the Section webpage: https://0-www-mdpi-com.brum.beds.ac.uk/journal/symmetry/sections/biology_symmetry

In this Special Issue, we would like to call for review papers in all biological aspects of symmetry and asymmetry.

Dr. Alejandro F Villaverde
Dr. Sachin Gulati
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Symmetry is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • Medicine
  • Microbiology
  • Molecular biology
  • Cell biology
  • Genetics
  • Genomics
  • Proteomics
  • Proteins
  • Developmental biology
  • Evolutionary biology
  • Biodiversity
  • Fluctuating asymmetry
  • Gene expression
  • Environmental and genetic stress
  • Sexual selection
  • Individual differences
  • Behavioral ecology
  • Neurobiology
  • Neuroscience
  • Brain asymmetry
  • Biradial symmetry
  • Biomechanics
  • Biomodels
  • Bioinformatics
  • Biomathematics
  • Biophysics
  • Biostatistics
  • Directional asymmetry
  • Antisymmetry (e.g., right-handed or left-handed, handedness, etc.)
  • Symmetries of scale
  • Symmetrical enzymatic reactions
  • Symmetrical geometry
  • Symmetry and biological robustness
  • Spherical symmetry
  • Helical symmetry
  • Broken symmetries
  • Random asymmetries

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Review

24 pages, 1632 KiB  
Review
The Intricate Web of Asymmetric Processing of Social Stimuli in Humans
by Daniele Marzoli, Anita D’Anselmo, Gianluca Malatesta, Chiara Lucafò, Giulia Prete and Luca Tommasi
Symmetry 2022, 14(6), 1096; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/sym14061096 - 27 May 2022
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 6864
Abstract
Although the population-level preference for the use of the right hand is the clearest example of behavioral lateralization, it represents only the best-known instance of a variety of functional asymmetries observable in humans. What is interesting is that many of such asymmetries emerge [...] Read more.
Although the population-level preference for the use of the right hand is the clearest example of behavioral lateralization, it represents only the best-known instance of a variety of functional asymmetries observable in humans. What is interesting is that many of such asymmetries emerge during the processing of social stimuli, as often occurs in the case of human bodies, faces and voices. In the present paper, after reviewing previous literature about human functional asymmetries for social and emotional stimuli, we suggest some possible links among them and stress the necessity of a comprehensive account (in both ontogenetic and phylogenetic terms) for these not yet fully explained phenomena. In particular, we propose that the advantages of lateralization for emotion processing should be considered in light of previous suggestions that (i) functional hemispheric specialization enhances cognitive capacity and efficiency, and (ii) the alignment (at the population level) of the direction of behavioral asymmetries emerges, under social pressures, as an evolutionary stable strategy. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biology and Symmetry/Asymmetry Section: Feature Review/Article Papers)
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10 pages, 230 KiB  
Review
Frontal Asymmetry as a Neural Correlate of Motivational Conflict
by Micayla French Lacey and Philip A. Gable
Symmetry 2022, 14(3), 507; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/sym14030507 - 02 Mar 2022
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1607
Abstract
Motivational systems of approach, avoidance, and inhibition are fundamental to human behavior. While past research has linked approach motivation with greater relative left frontal asymmetry, many attempts to link avoidance motivation with greater relative right frontal asymmetry have been mixed. These mixed effects [...] Read more.
Motivational systems of approach, avoidance, and inhibition are fundamental to human behavior. While past research has linked approach motivation with greater relative left frontal asymmetry, many attempts to link avoidance motivation with greater relative right frontal asymmetry have been mixed. These mixed effects could be due to coactivation of the avoidance and behavioral inhibition system (BIS). Much recent evidence indicates that the behavioral inhibition system may be associated with greater relative right frontal activation. The current review examines evidence linking traits associated with the behavioral inhibition system with resting right frontal asymmetry. Other research links individual differences associated with the behavioral inhibition system with state changes in relative right frontal asymmetry. Moreover, activation of the behavioral inhibition system, but not activation of withdrawal motivation, increases greater relative right frontal asymmetry. Together, this work highlights the role of relative frontal asymmetry as a neural correlate in motivational conflict and helps to disentangle behavioral inhibition from avoidance motivation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biology and Symmetry/Asymmetry Section: Feature Review/Article Papers)
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Graphical abstract

11 pages, 657 KiB  
Review
Symmetries in Dynamic Models of Biological Systems: Mathematical Foundations and Implications
by Alejandro F. Villaverde
Symmetry 2022, 14(3), 467; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/sym14030467 - 25 Feb 2022
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1884
Abstract
Symmetries are ubiquitous in nature. Almost all organisms have some kind of “symmetry”, meaning that their shape does not change under some geometric transformation. This geometrical concept of symmetry is intuitive and easy to recognize. On the other hand, the behavior of many [...] Read more.
Symmetries are ubiquitous in nature. Almost all organisms have some kind of “symmetry”, meaning that their shape does not change under some geometric transformation. This geometrical concept of symmetry is intuitive and easy to recognize. On the other hand, the behavior of many biological systems over time can be described with ordinary differential equations. These dynamic models may also possess “symmetries”, meaning that the time courses of some variables remain invariant under certain transformations. Unlike the previously mentioned symmetries, the ones present in dynamic models are not geometric, but infinitesimal transformations. These mathematical symmetries can be related to certain features of the system’s dynamic behavior, such as robustness or adaptation capabilities. However, they can also arise from questionable modeling choices, which may lead to non-identifiability and non-observability. This paper provides an overview of the types of symmetries that appear in dynamic models, the mathematical tools available for their analyses, the ways in which they are related to system properties, and the implications for biological modeling. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biology and Symmetry/Asymmetry Section: Feature Review/Article Papers)
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