Beilstein J. Org. Chem.2017,13, 1189–1203, doi:10.3762/bjoc.13.118
-replicating molecules and describe some recent advances in this field. While evolution experiments involving self-replicating molecules have shown promising results, true open-endedevolution has not been realized so far. A full understanding of the requirements for open-endedevolution would provide a better
understanding of how life could have emerged from molecular building blocks and what is needed to create a minimal form of life in the laboratory.
Keywords: autocatalysis; open-endedevolution; origin of life; self-replication; synthetic life; Introduction
Mankind has always pondered upon its own existence
that, although systems that show intriguing evolutionary capabilities have been devised, there is still a long way to go before a system that is capable of true undirected or open-endedevolution has been realized. Worryingly, the phenomenon of open-endedevolution in itself is currently not well
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Graphical Abstract
Figure 1:
Three processes involved in Darwinian evolution. Species must be replicated to obtain a large popul...
Beilstein J. Org. Chem.2017,13, 665–674, doi:10.3762/bjoc.13.66
possibilities for variation are indeed a requirement for systems to undergo open-endedevolution [66]. The storage of genetic information as a sequence in a polymer associated with template replication through base-pairing constitutes an efficient system to ensure evolvability. It is that evolvability which
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Graphical Abstract
Figure 1:
Self-assembly. (A) Macromolecular structures or patterns can form as the result of binding energy b...