Toward a Science of Emergence: Definitions, Prototypes, Principles and Applications.

Emergence as a phenomenon is embedded and expressed in the natural world, and in social systems. Introduced nearly 150 years ago in a philosophical context, it has since been applied in nearly every natural and social science. However all of these uses are not congruent, as the range of emergences in this Special Issue reflect as well; this has limited the accumulation of knowledge about emergence, as well as its development as a discipline.

Introduction to Emergence in Social Systems.

The articles in this special issue examine the contributions of Jeffrey A. Goldstein to the understanding of emergence as a formal group of processes. Applications include work teams, organizations, ecologies of organizations, and societies.

Understanding the Catalytic Efficiency of Two Polyester Degrading Enzymes: An Experimental and Theoretical Investigation.

The discovery of novel plastic degrading enzymes commonly relies on comparing features of the primary sequence to those of known plastic degrading enzymes. However, this approach cannot always guarantee success. This is exemplified by the different degradation rates of the two polymers poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) and polybutylene succinate (PBS) by two hydrolases: PETase from and Cut from .