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https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/24/science/symmetry-biology-evolution.html>
"Symmetry runs rampant in nature. It’s present wherever mirror images are
repeated, like in the right and left halves of elephants or butterflies, or in
the repeating patterns of flower petals and starfish arms around a central
point. It’s even hiding in the structures of tiny things like proteins and RNA.
While asymmetry certainly exists in nature (like how your heart is off to one
side in your chest, or how male fiddler crabs have one enlarged claw),
symmetrical forms crop up too often in living things to just be random.
Why does symmetry reign supreme? Biologists aren’t sure — there’s no reason
based in natural selection for symmetry’s prevalence in such varied forms of
life and their building blocks. Now it seems like a good answer could come from
the field of computer science.
In a paper published this month in
Proceedings of the National Academy of
Sciences, researchers analyzed thousands of protein complexes and RNA
structures as well as a model network of molecules that control how genes
switch on and off. They found that evolution tends toward symmetry because the
instructions to produce symmetry are easier to embed in genetic code and
follow. Symmetry is maybe the most fundamental application of the adage “work
smarter, not harder.”
“People often are quite amazed that evolution can make these incredible
structures, and what we’re showing is that it’s actually easier than you might
think,” said Ard Louis, a physicist at the University of Oxford and an author
of the study."
Via Bill Daul.
Share and enjoy,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
