Not only life can evolve: Scientists have discovered that Darwin’s theory of evolution applies to everything in the universe

This article comes from the WeChat public account: SF Chinese (ID: kexuejiaodian) , author: SF, text: Mei Lin

To say that Darwin was “wrong” here does not mean that Darwin’s theory of evolution is wrong, but that evolution applies not only to the living world, but also to everything in the universe. In other words, evolution is the law by which the entire universe operates.

Seeing this, friends may wonder: In order to survive and develop, life will produce various mutations, and the mutations that are more suitable for the environment will be retained. This is the evolution of life. Inanimate things are inherently inanimate, so can they evolve for the sake of better “survival” regardless of survival? What gives them this sense of “survival”?

Can inanimate matter evolve?

Darwin’s theory of evolution advocates “natural selection and survival of the fittest.” In other words, the ultimate goal of species evolution is survival.

Recently, research by many scientists has expanded the scope of application of the theory of evolution. They believe that no matter whether the system is alive or inanimate, if “mutation” occurs, and the system can operate normally and its functions are improved, then it can be said that the system has “evolved” and passed “natural selection” “. In other words, everything in the universe, including planets, stars, atoms, and minerals, can evolve to become more adaptable to the environment.

The scientists named their new conclusion the “Law of Increasing Functional Information” (hereinafter referred to as the law) and believed that this law was the “missing natural law” in the universe. The law states that natural systems in the universe will evolve to become more patterned, diverse and complex. Just like life on earth, it also evolves from simple life forms to complex and diverse life forms.

Similar to the evolution of living things through natural selection, the law points out that the evolution of all things in the universe also undergoes “functional selection.” We may be unfamiliar with the term function selection and it is difficult to understand it. If “survival” is regarded as a “function”, then biological evolution is actually the selection of various biological variations by the function of survival. In the same way, the evolution of all things in the universe is the selection of a certain function on all natural systems.

Here, scientists believe that there are three main basic functions, namely stability, dynamic persistence and novelty. Stability refers to the stable arrangement of the basic particles that make up matter, allowing natural systems to exist; dynamic systems with continuous energy supply are so-called dynamic persistence; and novelty, as the name suggests, is what we call “mutation”, and natural systems will Produce new functionality, new behaviors, and new features.

It is the selection based on these functions that drives the evolution and development of all things in the universe, creating today’s diverse and complex universe.

Do the “missing laws of nature” really apply to everything in the universe?

The proposal of the law is summarized by scientists based on theoretical analysis and comprehensive analysis of previous research. Some people may say that such a theory would be out of touch with reality. Is this really how our universe works?

We can look at a few examples. First, let’s talk about the living world. Inanimate molecules synthesize cells through some mechanism that we still don’t understand. Single-cell life lives in clusters, differentiates into tissues and organs, and forms multi-cellular organisms. Multicellular organisms adopted different evolutionary routes and developed autotrophic plants, heterotrophic animals, and saprotrophic fungi, making life on earth more diverse.

Needless to say, the evolution of the living world, Darwin had already discovered this pattern two to three hundred years ago. What about the non-living world? The same goes for the sky full of stars. Scientists pointed out that early stars only contained two main elements – hydrogen and helium. Later, the early stars used hydrogen and helium to create about 20 heavier chemical elements, and gradually evolved into the next generation of stars, which in turn Over 100 new elements were created using these elements. Stars are more diverse.

A small patch of sky in the constellation Fornax, taken by the Hubble Space Telescope. The stars in the photo may be the first stars to form after the Big Bang, and they contain only hydrogen and helium. (Image source: NASA)

This is true for stars, and so are the planets around stars. When it comes to the evolution of planets, it is essentially the evolution of minerals. The earliest minerals in the universe were 20 elements originating from the Big Bang. They cooled, solidified, and gathered the atmosphere, gradually forming planets. Over hundreds of millions of years, through continuous condensation, melting, crystallization, differentiation, the effects of different temperatures and pressures, and the influence of life activities, these 20 minerals have been reconfigured and combined to evolve nearly 6,000 minerals that we currently know. .

All elements in the periodic table and their isotopes appeared in the universe through the evolution of minerals. (Image source: Pexels)

The proposal of this new theory not only allows us to understand the past, but also points out a clearer direction for future research. Stuart Kaufman of the Institute of Systems Biology in Seattle, USA, said that this new discovery is extensive and groundbreaking. Scientists have begun to explore fundamental issues in the evolution of the universe, and the new conclusions proposed are not empty talk.

references:

• On the roles of function and selection in evolving systems | PNAS