Evolution Aujourdhui {Events}

L'evolution aujourd'hui par Jean-Pierre Gasc, UMR 7179 - CNRS / MNHN, Conference SAGA 10th of April 2010, Laboratoire de géologie 43 rue Buffon 75005 Paris, invited by Gwenael

Personal remarks

• parallels with information theory
  • can the complex reading/write/cutting of DNA (especially as opposed to the earlier view of it being a "simple" string of information) be compared to a Turing machine?
    • cf Homoiconicity, Code generation (compiler)
  • can architect genes (hox) in evo-devo be compared to design patterns and overall software architecture?
    • paradoxically architect genes, gene regulatory network and such abstract concepts sound very obvious in computer science with equivalent such as Design pattern or Functional programming

Key concepts

• the name "evolution" itself was not present in early edition of the Origin of Species and had to be clarified several times
  • On the Origin of Species: The Preservation of Favoured Traces by Ben Fry
• the red queen metaphor inspired by the arm race concept
  • The Red Queen by Matt Ridley and Seedea:Research/Drive
• sexual selection
  • The Mating Mind by Geoffrey Miller
• use of computer science tools
  • Intelligent Bio
• speciation and niches
  • Demons In Eden
• advances of the epigenetic paradigm
  • ScanningNotes#volution4D
• remark on the complexity of biology, even against physics
  • see also Human genome at ten: Life is complicated Nature 464, 664-667 (2010)

To do

• schema with tree structure regarding environmental pressure with Gaussian curves leading to different paths
  • directional
  • stationary
  • diversifying
  • (slide from the presentation asked to Gwenael)