Directionality theory: a computational study of an entropic principle in evolutionary processes
Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 18, 2026

Following the Dynamics of Structural Variants in Experimentally Evolved Populations
Published on: February 3, 2023
1Max Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics, Ihnestrasse 73, 14195 Berlin, Germany.
Abstract:
Analytical studies of evolutionary processes based on the demographic parameter entropy-a measure of the uncertainty in the age of the mother of a randomly chosen newborn-show that evolutionary changes in entropy are contingent on environmental constraints and can be characterized in terms of three tenets: (i) a unidirectional increase in entropy for populations subject to bounded growth constraints; (ii) a unidirectional decrease in entropy for large populations subject to unbounded growth constraints; (iii) random, non-directional change in entropy for small populations subject to unbounded growth constraints. This article aims to assess the robustness of these analytical tenets by computer simulation. The results of the computational study are shown to be consistent with the analytical predictions. Computational analysis, together with complementary empirical studies of evolutionary changes in entropy underscore the universality of the entropic principle as a model of the evolutionary process.
More Related Videos
09:42Unraveling Entropic Rate Acceleration Induced by Solvent Dynamics in Membrane Enzymes
Published on: January 16, 2016
10:44Inherent Dynamics Visualizer, an Interactive Application for Evaluating and Visualizing Outputs from a Gene Regulatory Network Inference Pipeline
Published on: December 7, 2021
Related Concept Videos
Entropy Change in Reversible Processes
The statement can be further generalized to prove that entropy is a state function. Take a cyclic process between any two points on a p-V diagram.
Entropy and the Second Law of Thermodynamics
Entropy and the Second Law of Thermodynamics
The relation between entropy and disorder can be illustrated with the example of the phase change of ice to water. In ice, the molecules are located at specific sites giving a solid state, whereas, in a liquid form, these molecules are much freer to move. The molecular arrangement has therefore become more randomized. Although the change in average...
Entropy
When an ideal gas expands isothermally, the disorder in the gas increases. From the molecular perspective, the gas molecules have more volume to move around in.
Consider an infinitesimal step in the expansion, which...
Entropy
The Second Law of Thermodynamics