Description:

The behavior of matter – both living and non-living – stems from the physical interactions between its constituents. In evolutionary biology, the result of one local change in the genetic code, a mutation,  strongly depends on the precise set mutations that have preceded it. Evolutionary pathways can become non-viable if the mutations occur in an unfavorable order. Surprisingly, a physical, purely mechanical, network provides a platform where evolvable matter can be examined to expose the processes governing the transformation of function. Here I will show that such networks can recapitulate the behavior and elucidate some mechanisms of biological evolution.  

While much of condensed matter has focused on complex interacting systems, evolutionary matter presents a different and constructive context in which to study many-body effects by emphasizing the importance of sequence, or order in which the interacting elements are introduced. This study in a purely physical system provides a platform where ideas about evolvable matter from physics and biology can coexist and take inspiration from one another. 

Sidney R. Nagel, Professor, University of Chicago

Host: Michelle Driscoll