New Books on Symmetry

Mathematics of Bioinformatics: Theory, Practice, and Applications

by Sergey V. Petoukhov and Matthew He
contents
USA: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2010, 295 p.


There was a boom in symmetry related basic monographs in the years 2007-2009.
These publications together mark a milestone in the process of disciplinarization of symmetrology.


A Birkhäuser book (2007) on Symmetry by György Darvas

Flyer and Order form

(pdf)


Why Beauty is Truth – A short history of symmetry

by Ian Stewart
Basic Books Inc. (2007)


From Summetria to Symmetry: The Making of a Revolutionary Scientific Concept

by Giora Hon and Bernard R. Goldstein
Series: ARCHIMEDES, New Studies in the History of Science and Technology, Vol. 20
Springer (2008)


Symmetry Rules

How Science and Nature Are Founded on Symmetry
by Joe Rosen
Series: The Frontiers Collection
Springer (2008)


The Symmetries of Things

by John H. Conway, Chaim Goodman-Strauss
A. K. Peters, Ltd.  (2008)


Symmetrical Analysis Techniques for Genetic Systems and Bioinformatics: Advanced Patterns and Applications

by Sergey V. Petoukhov and Matthew He
IGI Global (2009)


Configurations of Points and Lines

by Branko Grünbaum
American Mathematical Society (2009)


Over the listed scientific monographs there were published a few further books recently that made a good service for the popularization of symmetry studies in the wide public and among pupils and undergraduate students:
Avner Ash and Robert Gross: Fearless Symmetry, Princeton University Press (2006)
Mark  Ronan: Symmetry and the Monster, Oxford University Press, New York (2006)
Mario Livio: The golden ratio and aesthetics (2002)


Hats from Mozambique – Chapeus de Mocambique

by Paulus Gerdes

Dear colleagues,

I have the pleasure to announce the publication of a booklet with full colour photographs of hats woven with palm leaves. You may see beautiful shapes, curves, spirals, polygons, designs and patterns, and attractive symmetries…

From the introduction:

This booklet “Hats from Mozambique” presents photographs of woven hats I have collected since the 1980s from four coastal regions of Mozambique: the districts of Palma and Mecúfi in the Cabo Delgado Province in the North, and the districts around the Bay of Inhambane and the Manjacaze District in the Gaza Province in the South (see the map on page 9). Some of the hats presented here, like the ones from Palma and the hats from Inhambane decorated with band or plane patterns, are exceptional and very rare…

I trust that the photographs may convey an impression of the beauty and diversity of hats made in Mozambique, and of the creativity and imagination of the women and men who weave them.

The book "Hats from Mozambique – Chapeus de Mocambique" (ISBN 978-0-557-38758-80), published by the ‘Associacao Indico’ (Maputo), is available both in print and as download from www.lulu.com at http://stores.lulu.com/pgerdes (52 pages).

Please, forward to those who may be interested.

best regards,

Paulus Gerdes
Centro de Estudos Moçambicanos e de Etnociência (CEMEC), Universidade Pedagógica
Av. Salvador Allende 366, 1 andar
C.P. 915, Maputo, Moçambique

Recent books by Paulus Gerdes
http://stores.lulu.com/pgerdes

Lunda Geometry: Mirror Curves, Designs, Knots, Polyominoes, Patterns, Symmetries

African Basketry: A Twill-Plaited Designs and Patterns


Matrix Genetics, Algebras of Genetic Code, Noise-immunity

by Sergey V. Petoukhov (in Russian)

This book describes the utility of matrix methods to represent and to analyze hierarchical systems of genetic encoding for mathematical classification and for modeling natural forms of ordering these systems. The work demonstrates a connection of forms of ordering genetic code with special algebras, and also with a series of other well known mathematical structures: Hadamard matrices, double numbers, transformations of hyperbolic
turns, the golden section, the Pythagorean musical scale, etc. These algebras (e.g., that of quaternions) are related to special multidimensional geometries. They permit to develop new models in the fields of molecular genetics, bioinformatics and mathematical biology in general.

The received data reveal adequacy of matrix mathematics from the theory of discrete signal processing and noise-immunity coding to investigate molecular systems of genetic encoding. They give additional bases to think that structures of genetic code are determined in many respects by demands of noise-immunity of genetic information.


Words and Languages Everywhere

by Solomon Marcus

There are some chapters in the book which refer explicitly to symmetry: they are chapter VII (Symmetry in finite words and
in languages (p.219-250) and the section “Symmetry phenomena in infinite words (p.365-372). But there are many other chapters referring to symmetry phenomena under some  specific forms, such as periodocity and its extensions, (almost periodicity, quasiperiodicity), attractors,etc.:chapter IV, Numbers as words (p.127-154), chapter IX, Infinite words (p.337-380), chapter X, Biology and languages(p.381-432), and chapter XI, Chemistry and languages (p.433-448) are in this situation.The other chapters too have strong links with symmetey phenomena.

Words and Languages Everywhere by Solomon Marcus