Entropy explains RNA diffusion rates in cells

Itto's work provides new insights into the complex biochemical processes that go on inside cells. This work could enable researchers to place more rigorous mathematical constraints on the ways in which they function. He also shows that the diffusive dynamics of RNA are analogous to thermodynamic behaviours in larger systems. His calculations imply that the differences in time-varying entropy in different parts of a cell are directly comparable to the time-varying differences in temperature resulting from the flow of heat throughout thermal systems. Itto derived these behaviours by using a series of mathematical equations. These relate RNA diffusion rates on small scales with their subsequent diffusion-varying rates of entropy.

Thanks to this approach, he has now successfully derived the characteristic exponential patterns of RNA diffusion rates, starting from basic mathematics. For the first time, his findings support previous observations that within yeast and bacteria cells, RNA diffusion represents the maximum possible distribution of entropy.