The evolutionary origin of form and function

Area of Science:

• Thermodynamics
• Systems Biology
• Biophysics

Background:

• The cell is the fundamental unit of life.
• Organisms interact with their ecosystems.
• Existing models often emphasize genetic variation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To conceptualize the cell and organism as dissipative systems.
• To propose a holistic model of life based on thermodynamics and information.
• To re-evaluate the role of genetic variation in the life process.

Main Methods:

• Applying principles of thermodynamics, including the second law and least action.
• Analyzing cells and organisms as information-processing and energy-optimizing systems.
• Examining emergent properties from cell-cell and organism-ecosystem interactions.

Main Results:

• Cells are viewed as dissipative processes optimizing nutrient extraction.
• Organisms emerge from information-bearing cells and minimize ecosystem free energy.
• Phenotypic information arises from dissipative processes like peptide folding.

Conclusions:

• Life is a holistic, thermodynamically driven process.
• Emergent form and function arise from interactions within dissipative systems.
• Genetic variation is not central to this conceptualization of life.