3:30–4:30 pm KPTC 106
Who Let the Demons In?
Abstract:
Since at least Schrodinger, physicists have seen life as a non-equilibrium process that has successfully fought the 2nd law of thermodynamics by maintaining order for 4 billion years. While we understand how extant biological Maxwell Demons work, much less is known about how such Demons come into existence in the first place. Using experimental and theoretical work on the molecular machinery that copies DNA-based information, we suggest that surprisingly little might be needed - mechanisms that maintain non-equilibrium order can potentially arise spontaneously without the order itself being functional in any way. For biologists, this work suggests a program to study the evolution of biophysical mechanisms that control heritable variation, the fuel of Darwinian evolution. For physicists, the work provides a case study of how condensed matter physics-based thinking often focuses on the wrong questions in biology.
Zoom information will be shared with the Physics Listserv. To be added to the listserv, please contact tkurns@uchicago.edu.
