An interdisciplinary team of scientists and philosophers has identified what they call the “missing law” of nature. This proposal extends Darwin’s theory of evolution to nonliving systems. For example, stars, minerals and even atoms. In fact, that’s all. In other words, evolution is not limited to life on Earth: other complex natural systems are also evolving toward a more structural, diverse, and complex state.
Charles Darwin revolutionized our understanding of the world with his book. “On the Origin of Species”. In 1859, he proposed that species change over time: they acquire traits that promote survival and reproduction. Now, 164 years later, new work recognizes evolution as a common characteristic of all complex systems in the natural world.
Complex systems are made up of many different parts that can be organized and reorganized many times. For example, systems formed by atoms, cells or molecules. They occur through natural processes that form countless variables or configurations, such as cellular mutation.
However, as the new study explains, only a small fraction of all these configurations encounter another process they call “selection by function”. That is, when the new configuration works, it is useful. Only then does evolution occur. Again: regardless of whether the system is alive or not.
Types of functions according to the “missing law” of nature
Darwin equated this utility with survival in the case of biology. In other words, the ability to live long enough to reproduce. But a new study published this week in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), aimed at three different types of functions in nature.
The most basic function is the stability function: stable configurations of atoms or molecules are selected in the system to guarantee its continuity. The second refers to the combination of elements that allow it to remain dynamic with energy supplies. The third and most interesting function, according to researchers, is “novelty”: the tendency of developing systems to explore new variables that sometimes lead to new behavior or surprising characteristics.
Thus the principle of evolution applies to a collection of atoms forming a stable mineral crystal capable of being preserved. Or the star retains its dynamic structure. Or “a life form learns a new ‘trick’ that allows it to compete better than its neighbors,” explained Robert Hazen, study co-author and astrobiologist at the Carnegie Institution for Science. Reuters.
The evolutionary history of life is rich in innovations, the Carnegie Institution for Science explains in a press release about the study. Photosynthesis evolved when individual cells learned to use light energy. Multicellular life also arose when cells learned to cooperate. And this species discovered new useful behavior patterns: swimming, walking, flying. And think about it.
The same type of evolution occurs in the mineral kingdom. At the beginning of the solar system, there were about 20 minerals on Earth. Almost 6 thousand products of physical, chemical and even biological processes are now known, increasingly complex over the course of 4.5 billion years.
Law of “increase in functional information”
Hazen teamed up with eight other colleagues: scientists from Carnegie, Caltech, Cornell University and the University of Colorado. “The universe is full of complex, evolving systems, but existing macroscopic physical laws do not seem to adequately describe these systems,” the team noted in the report.
Just as identifying conceptual equivalents between different phenomena was key to the development of hitherto known laws of nature, “we are moving toward a possible ‘missing law’ by looking for equivalents between evolving systems,” the report says.
Here’s how “law of increasing functional information”which the study summarizes as: “The functional information of a system will increase—that is, the system will evolve—if many different system configurations are selected for one or more functions.”
Hazen emphasizes that those combinations that are stable and can generate even more new products will continue to develop. “That’s what makes life the most amazing example of evolution, but evolution is everywhere,” he said.
Among the implications of the study, the research team highlights possible contributions to the search for life elsewhere. And he asks: “If there is a distinction between life and non-life related to the selection of functions, “Can we define ‘rules of life’ that will allow us to discern this biotic dividing line in astrobiological research?”
Source: Hiper Textual
