Scientists propose sweeping new law of nature, expanding on evolution
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[October 17, 2023]
By Will Dunham
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - When British naturalist Charles Darwin sketched
out his theory of evolution in the 1859 book "On the Origin of Species"
- proposing that biological species change over time through the
acquisition of traits that favor survival and reproduction - it provoked
a revolution in scientific thought.
Now 164 years later, nine scientists and philosophers on Monday proposed
a new law of nature that includes the biological evolution described by
Darwin as a vibrant example of a much broader phenomenon, one that
appears at the level of atoms, minerals, planetary atmospheres, planets,
stars and more.
It holds that complex natural systems evolve to states of greater
patterning, diversity and complexity.
"We see evolution as a universal process that applies to numerous
systems, both living and nonliving, that increase in diversity and
patterning through time," said Carnegie Institution for Science
mineralogist and astrobiologist Robert Hazen, a co-author of the
scientific paper describing the law in the journal Proceedings of the
National Academy of Sciences.
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Titled the "law of increasing functional information," it holds that
evolving systems, biological and non-biological, always form from
numerous interacting building blocks like atoms or cells, and that
processes exist - such as cellular mutation - that generate many
different configurations. Evolution occurs, it holds, when these various
configurations are subject to selection for useful functions.
"We have well-documented laws that describe such everyday phenomena as
forces, motions, gravity, electricity and magnetism and energy," Hazen
said. "But these laws do not, individually or collectively, describe or
explain why the universe keeps getting more diverse and complex at
scales of atoms, molecules, minerals and more."
In stars, for instance, just two elements - hydrogen and helium - were
the main ingredients in the first stellar generation following the Big
Bang about 13.8 billion years ago that initiated the universe.
That first generation of stars, in the thermonuclear fusion caldrons at
their cores, forged about 20 heavier elements such as carbon, nitrogen
and oxygen that were blasted into space when they exploded at the end of
their life cycles. The subsequent generation of stars that formed from
the remnants of the prior generation then similarly forged almost 100
more elements.
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Pigeon bones are displayed in Charles Darwin's former home ,Down
House, in Kent, southern England February 12, 2009. REUTERS/Tal
Cohen/File Photo
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On Earth, living organisms acquired greater complexity including the
pivotal moment when multicellular life originated.
"Imagine a system of atoms or molecules that can exist in countless
trillions of different arrangements or configurations," Hazen said.
"Only a small fraction of all possible configurations will 'work' -
that is, they will have some useful degree of function. So, nature
just prefers those functional configurations."
Hazen added that "function" might mean that a collection of atoms
makes a stable mineral crystal that can persist, or that a star
maintains its dynamic structure, or that "a life form learns a new
'trick' that allows it to compete better than its neighbors," Hazen
added.
The authors proposed three universal concepts of selection: the
basic ability to endure; the enduring nature of active processes
that may enable evolution; and the emergence of novel
characteristics as an adaptation to an environment.
Some biological examples of this "novelty generation" include
organisms developing the ability to swim, walk, fly and think. Our
species emerged after the human evolutionary lineage diverged from
the chimpanzee lineage and acquired an array of traits including
upright walking and increased brain size.
"I think this paper is important because it describes a view of the
cosmos rooted in function," said Carnegie Institution astrobiologist
and planetary scientist Michael Wong, the paper's lead author.
"The significance of formulating such a law is that it provides a
new perspective on why the diverse systems that make up the cosmos
evolve the way they do, and may allow predictions about how
unfamiliar systems - like the organic chemistry on Saturn's moon
Titan - develop over time," added co-author Jonathan Lunine, chair
of Cornell University's astronomy department, referencing a world
being scrutinized for possible extraterrestrial life.
(Reporting by Will Dunham; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)
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