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Title: Fundamental constraints to the logic of living systems
It has been argued that the historical nature of evolution makes it a highly path-dependent process. Under this view, the outcome of evolutionary dynamics could have resulted in organisms with different forms and functions. At the same time, there is ample evidence that convergence and constraints strongly limit the domain of the potential design principles that evolution can achieve. Are these limitations relevant in shaping the fabric of the possible? Here, we argue that fundamental constraints are associated with the logic of living matter. We illustrate this idea by considering the thermodynamic properties of living systems, the linear nature of molecular information, the cellular nature of the building blocks of life, multicellularity and development, the threshold nature of computations in cognitive systems and the discrete nature of the architecture of ecosystems. In all these examples, we present available evidence and suggest potential avenues towards a well-defined theoretical formulation.  more » « less
Award ID(s):
2436069
PAR ID:
10599686
Author(s) / Creator(s):
; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ;
Publisher / Repository:
The Royal Society
Date Published:
Journal Name:
Interface Focus
Volume:
14
Issue:
5
ISSN:
2042-8898
Format(s):
Medium: X
Sponsoring Org:
National Science Foundation
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