Life as a chain of machines constructing machines

This model describes life as a hierarchy of mechanical interactions, where cellular components function as microscopic submachines, down to molecular structures like ion pumps and enzymes. At the larger scale, cells self-organize into tissues, organs, and entire ecosystems, ultimately culminating in the biosphere.

This innovative framework emerges from a collaboration between Professors Tsvi Tlusty of the Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST), South Korea, and Albert Libchaber from the Center for Physics and Biology at Rockefeller University, New York. Their approach is inspired by seventeenth-century polymath Gottfried Leibniz, who famously observed that "the machines of nature, that is living bodies, are still machines in their smallest parts, to infinity."

The researchers developed a structured language to define living matter as a near-infinite, dual cascade, spanning eighteen orders of magnitude in spatial scale and thirty orders in time. This cascade converges at a critical point - 1,000 seconds and 1 micron - which corresponds to the typical size and lifespan of microbial life.

The study provides a foundational explanation for why this critical point emerges, drawing from fundamental physical and logical principles. It identifies the conditions required for a self-replicating machine to interact with its aquatic environment, particularly salty water.

This threshold represents a turning point in the evolution of life, from the simplest self-reproducing entities to complex societies of organisms that shape entire biospheres.

"This work lays the conceptual groundwork for developing mathematical languages that encapsulate the hallmarks of life," said Professor Tlusty. "Such formalisms are essential for constructing a theory of life."

Research Report:Life sets off a cascade of machines