New Law of Nature: Evolution as a Universal Process

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta – When British naturalist Charles Darwin outlined his theory of evolution in his 1859 book “On the Origin of Species” – which proposed that biological species change over time through the acquisition of traits that support survival and reproduction – this sparked a revolution in scientific thought.

Now 164 years later, nine scientists and philosophers on Monday, October 16, 2023, proposed a new law of nature that includes the biological evolution described by Darwin as a clear example of a much broader phenomenon, occurring at the level of atoms, minerals, planetary atmospheres, planets, stars and more.

This theory argues, as quoted by Reuters, that complex natural systems develop into states with greater pattern, diversity and complexity.

“We see evolution as a universal process that applies to many systems, both living and non-living, whose diversity and patterns increase over time,” said Carnegie Institution for Science mineralogist and astrobiologist Robert Hazen. He is one of the authors of a scientific paper explaining evolution. law in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Titled the “law of increasing functional information”, the theory states that evolving systems, both biological and non-biological, are always formed from multiple interacting building blocks such as atoms or cells, and that there are processes – such as cellular mutations – that produce many different configurations . Evolution occurs when these various configurations are subject to selection for useful functions.

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“We have well-documented laws that describe everyday phenomena such as force, motion, gravity, electricity, magnetism and energy,” Hazen said. “But these laws, individually or collectively, do not explain or explain why the universe is becoming increasingly diverse and complex at the scales of atoms, molecules, minerals, and more.”

In stars, for example, only two elements – hydrogen and helium – were the main ingredients in the first generation of stars after the Big Bang about 13.8 billion years ago that started the universe.

These first-generation stars, in the cauldron of thermonuclear fusion in their cores, forged about 20 heavier elements such as carbon, nitrogen and oxygen that were flung into space when they exploded at the end of their life cycles. The next generation of stars formed from the remains of the previous generation then formed nearly 100 more elements in the same way.

On Earth, living organisms acquired greater complexity including the crucial moment when multicellular life emerged.

“Imagine a system of atoms or molecules that can exist in trillions of different arrangements or configurations,” Hazen said. “Only a small fraction of all possible configurations will ‘work’ – that is, they will have some level of useful function. So nature favors those functional configurations.”

Hazen adds that “function” might mean that a collection of atoms forms a stable mineral crystal that can survive, or that a star maintains its dynamic structure, or that “a life form learns a new ‘trick’ that allows it to compete better than others.” neighbors,” added Hazen.

The authors proposed three universal concepts of selection: basic ability to survive; the enduring nature of active processes that make evolution possible; and the emergence of new characteristics as an adaptation to the environment.

Some biological examples of these “new generations” include organisms that developed the ability to swim, walk, fly, and think. Our species emerged after the human evolutionary lineage diverged from the chimpanzee lineage and acquired a series of traits including upright walking and increased brain size.

“I think this paper is important because it describes a view of the cosmos that is rooted in its function,” said Carnegie Institution astrobiologist and planetary scientist Michael Wong, the paper’s lead author.

“The importance of formulating such laws is that it provides a new perspective on why the diverse systems that make up the cosmos evolved as they did, and allows predictions about how unfamiliar systems – such as organic chemistry on the moon Saturn, Titan – growing. over time,” added co-author Jonathan Lunine, chairman of Cornell University’s astronomy department, referring to worlds being researched for possible extraterrestrial life.

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2023-10-17 02:05:22
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