Modern nonlinear science got started when Enrico Fermi, John Pasta, Stan Ulam, and Mary Tsingou Menzel discovered a remarkable effect about nonlinear system dynamics while exploring the dynamics of a chain of masses connected by anharmonic springs via a computer simulation (in 1952!) [1, 2]. To their great surprise, the system was not ergodic under certain initial conditions, but periodically returned to its original conditions. The Fermi–Pasta–Ulam–Tsingou discovery of what could be called nonthermalization took a while to get into the public domain, and during this time the mathematician Martin Kruskal at Princeton, with Norman Zabusky at Bell Labs, discovered that there were integrable solutions to a nonlinear differential equation called the Korteweg de Vries (KdV) equation that came out of studies of nonlinear dispersive waves [3]. These solutions had remarkably robust properties and Kruskal coined the term “soliton” to describe them, a wonderful term that immediately entered the public domain. Of course, these kinds of self-sustaining structures in anharmonic systems had been seen before, most notably in the case of John Scott Russell in 1834 who discovered what he called a “wave of translation” due to the abrupt stopping of a canal barge [4]. Solitons are particularly interesting phenomena and important to physics at many different levels because they act as “particles” with an identity as they move through an anharmonic region. An excellent introduction to solitons can be found in the book by Drazin and Johnson [5]. A remarkable surge in the interest in solitons in biology occurred in the early 1970s because of two people: Alwyn C. Scott, a powerful theoretical physicist with a strong interest in nonlinear phenomena and biology, and Alexander Davydov, an eminent theoretical solid state theorist. Davydov constructed in 1973 a fully quantum mechanical model for vibrational energy propagation down the alpha helix of a protein, but it was not a very accessible article to either find (in the Western literature) or read [6]. Al Scott became fascinated with the subject and wrote several masterful reviews of the subject [7, 8] and helped popularize the idea that these quantum nonlinear entities might be important in biology. Among his efforts were the unearthing of Scott Russell’s original “wave of translation” observation and the tenacious recreation of this event in spite of being a card-carrying theorist. Yesterday, a temporary lack of concentration sprawled me on the pavement and hopefully just hurt my knee. Today, I am limping around cursing my temporary immobility, and realizing how extraordinarily brave Alwyn C. Scott was, in addition to his prodigious skills as a theoretical physicist and expositor of nonlinear science. Shortly after moving to Tucson in 1985, he was struck while riding a bike by a pick-up truck which ran a red light. He was left partially paralyzed and in constant pain the rest of his life, but this did not slow down Al Scott. I have found this wonderful picture (Fig. ​(Fig.1,1, from http://www.ma.hw.ac.uk/~chris/kruskal/scott_kr_95.jpg) of Scott, Kruskal, and Chris Eilbeck of Heriot-Watt University on 12 July 1995 when they witnessed a re-creation of the Scott Russell wave of translation. Fig. 1 Chris Eilbeck, Alwyn C. Scott, and Martin Kruskal (left to right) waiting for a Scott Russell soliton water wave (reproduced with kind permission of Chris Eilbeck, Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, UK) Solitons do indeed exist, of course, and are very important. Although the emphasis of this memorial issue is on the possible biological role of Davydov’s soliton (see the articles by Shyamsunder Erramilli, Peter Hamm, Leonor Cruzeiro, Alan Bishop, and myself), we also included some more condensed matter articles by Peter Christiansen and Al Sievers to provide a solid background. Biological solitons remain an elusive concept, and we still do not know if indeed they play a major role in biology. We leave it to the reader to decide for him- or herself and read the sad and cautionary tale written by Luca Turin about Colin McClare who tried, as Martin Kruskal’s tee-shirt says, to “Subvert the Dominant Paradigm!” Alwyn C. Scott did that in many ways.

中文翻译：

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Alwyn C. Scott，生物物理学中的颠覆性人物

当 Enrico Fermi、John Pasta、Stan Ulam 和 Mary Tsingou Menzel 通过计算机模拟探索由非谐弹簧连接的质量链的动力学时，现代非线性科学开始了（1952 年！）[ 1, 2]。令他们惊讶的是，系统在某些初始条件下不是遍历的，而是周期性地返回到其原始条件。Fermi-Pasta-Ulam-Tsingou 发现所谓的非热化需要一段时间才能进入公共领域，在此期间，普林斯顿的数学家 Martin Kruskal 和贝尔实验室的 Norman Zabusky 发现存在可集成的解决方案非线性微分方程称为 Korteweg de Vries (KdV) 方程，该方程源自对非线性色散波的研究 [3]。这些解决方案具有非常强大的特性，克鲁斯卡尔创造了术语“孤子”来描述它们，这个美妙的术语立即进入了公共领域。当然，这种非谐系统中的自我维持结构以前就已经出现过，最引人注目的是约翰·斯科特·罗素（John Scott Russell）在 1834 年的案例，他发现了由于运河驳船突然停止而产生的他所谓的“平移波”。 4]。孤子是特别有趣的现象，对许多不同层次的物理学都很重要，因为它们在穿过非谐区域时充当具有同一性的“粒子”。在 Drazin 和 Johnson [5] 的书中可以找到对孤子的出色介绍。1970 年代初，生物学中对孤子的兴趣显着激增，原因是两个人：Alwyn C. Scott，一位对非线性现象和生物学有浓厚兴趣的强大理论物理学家，以及著名的固体理论理论家亚历山大·达维多夫。Davydov 于 1973 年构建了一个完整的量子力学模型，用于沿蛋白质的 α 螺旋传播振动能量，但它不是一篇很容易找到（在西方文献中）或阅读的文章 [6]。阿尔·斯科特 (Al Scott) 对这个主题着迷，并撰写了几篇关于该主题的精彩评论 [7, 8]，并帮助普及了这些量子非线性实体可能在生物学中很重要的想法。他的努力包括发掘斯科特·罗素最初的“翻译浪潮”观察以及尽管是一名持牌理论家，但对这一事件的顽强再现。昨天，暂时的注意力不集中让我趴在人行道上，希望只是伤到了我的膝盖。今天，我一边跛行，一边诅咒我暂时的不动，并意识到 Alwyn C. Scott 除了作为理论物理学家和非线性科学解释者的惊人技能之外，还有多么勇敢。1985 年搬到图森后不久，他骑自行车时被​​一辆闯红灯的皮卡车撞了。他部分瘫痪，余生都在持续痛苦中，但这并没有让阿尔·斯科特慢下来。我找到了这张由 Scott、Kruskal 和 Chris Eilbeck 拍摄的精彩图片（图 （图 1,1，来自 http://www.ma.hw.ac.uk/~chris/kruskal/scott_kr_95.jpg） 1995 年 7 月 12 日，赫瑞瓦特大学见证了 Scott Russell 翻译浪潮的重新创建。图 1 Chris Eilbeck、Alwyn C. Scott、和 Martin Kruskal（从左到右）等待 Scott Russell 孤子水波（经英国爱丁堡赫瑞瓦特大学 Chris Eilbeck 许可转载） 当然，孤子确实存在，而且非常重要。虽然这个纪念问题的重点是达维多夫孤子可能的生物学作用（见 Shyamsunder Erramilli、Peter Hamm、Leonor Cruzeiro、Alan Bishop 和我自己的文章），但我们也收录了 Peter Christiansen 和 Al 的一些更凝练的文章Sievers 提供了坚实的背景。生物孤子仍然是一个难以捉摸的概念，我们仍然不知道它们是否确实在生物学中发挥了重要作用。我们让读者自己决定，并阅读 Luca Turin 写的关于 Colin McClare 的悲伤和警示故事，他尝试过，正如 Martin Kruskal 的 T 恤所说，以“颠覆主导范式！” Alwyn C. Scott 在很多方面做到了这一点。