Is there an optimal level of open-endedness in prebiotic evolution?

In this paper we explore the question of whether there is an optimal set up for a putative prebiotic system leading to open-ended evolution (OEE) of the events unfolding within this system. We do so by proposing two key innovations. First, we introduce a new index that measures OEE as a function of the likelihood of events unfolding within a universe given its initial conditions. Next, we apply this index to a variant of the graded autocatalysis replication domain (GARD) model, Segre et al. (P Natl Acad Sci USA 97(8):4112-4117, 2000; Markovitch and Lancet Artif Life 18(3), 2012), and use it to study--under a unified and concise prebiotic evolutionary framework--both a variety of initial conditions of the universe and the OEE of species that evolve from them.

Citation

Omer Markovitch, Daniel Sorek, Leong Ting Lui, Doron Lancet, Natalio Krasnogor. Is there an optimal level of open-endedness in prebiotic evolution? Origins of life and evolution of the biosphere : the journal of the International Society for the Study of the Origin of Life. 2012 Oct;42(5):469-73; discussion 474

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PMID: 23114973

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