How quickly can a bacterium grow? E. coli can replicate close to thermodynamic limits of efficiency
Tuesday, August 27, 2013 - 11:30
in Biology & Nature
All living things must obey the laws of physics -- including the second law of thermodynamics, which states that the universe's disorder, or entropy, can only grow. Highly ordered cells and organisms appear to contradict this principle, but they actually do conform because they generate heat that increases the universe's overall entropy.