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Mechanisms of selection and the abiotic-to-biotic Assembly transition

Characterize the mechanisms by which selection operates prior to genetic evolution in chemical systems and determine the nature of the transition in Assembly from abiotic environments to biotic systems.

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Background

The paper emphasizes that Assembly Theory is intended to bridge prebiotic and biotic regimes, focusing on the emergence of selection before formal genetics. Understanding how selection arises and how Assembly transitions as systems become biological is central to validating AT’s explanatory power.

The authors explicitly state that many open questions remain regarding both the mechanism of selection and the transition in Assembly from abiotic to biotic contexts.

References

AT is still in its infancy, with many open questions remaining about the mechanism for selection, and the transition in Assembly from the abiotic world to the biotic world.

— Assembly Theory and its Relationship with Computational Complexity (2406.12176 - Kempes et al., 18 Jun 2024) in Section “Generalizing Assembly Theory Beyond Covalent Chemistry”