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Life 2012, 2(1), 165-169; doi:10.3390/life2010165

Communication

The Capricious Character of Nature

Jaana Keto ¹  and Arto Annila ^1,2,3,*

¹ Department of Biosciences, University of Helsinki, Fi-00014 Helsinki , Finland ² Department of Physics, University of Helsinki, Fi-00014 Helsinki, Finland ³ Institute of Biotechnology, University of Helsinki, Fi-00014 Helsinki, Finland

* Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Received: 1 December 2011; in revised form: 22 December 2011 / Accepted: 4 January 2012 / Published: 11 January 2012

Download PDF Full-Text [171 KB, uploaded 11 January 2012 17:00 CET]

Abstract: The on-going whole genome sequencing and whole cell assays of metabolites and proteins imply that complex systems could ultimately be mastered by perfecting knowledge into great detail. However, courses of nature are inherently intractable because flows of energy and their driving forces depend on each other. Thus no data will suffice to predict precisely the outcomes of e.g., engineering experiments. All path-dependent processes, most notably evolution in its entirety, display this capricious character of nature.

Keywords: evolution; free energy; natural selection

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