Collins Conference Room
Seminar
  US Mountain Time
Speaker: 
Ricard Solé (University Pompeu Fabra; SFI External Professor)

Our campus is closed to the public for this event.

Abstract.  The evolution of life in our biosphere has been marked by several major innovations. Such major complexity shifts include the origin of cells, genetic codes or multicellularity to the emergence of non-genetic information, language or even consciousness. Understanding the nature and conditions for their rise and success is a major challenge for evolutionary biology. Along with data analysis, phylogenetic studies and dedicated experimental work, theoretical and computational studies are an essential part of this exploration. With the rise of synthetic biology. evolutionary robotics, artificial life and advanced simulations, novel perspectives to these problems have led to a rather interesting scenario, where not only the major transitions can be studied or even reproduced, but even new ones might be potentially identified. In both cases, transitions can be understood in terms of phase transitions, as defined in physics. Such mapping (if correct) would help defining a general framework to establish a theory of innovation.

Purpose: 
Research Collaboration
SFI Host: 
Jennifer Dunne

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