How and why kinetics, thermodynamics, and chemistry induce the logic of biological evolution - Archive ouverte HAL Accéder directement au contenu
Article Dans Une Revue Beilstein Journal of Organic Chemistry Année : 2017

How and why kinetics, thermodynamics, and chemistry induce the logic of biological evolution

Résumé

Thermodynamic stability, as expressed by the Second Law, generally constitutes the driving force for chemical assembly processes. Yet, somehow, within the living world most self-organisation processes appear to challenge this fundamental rule. Even though the Second Law remains an inescapable constraint, under energy-fuelled, far-from-equilibrium conditions, populations of chemical systems capable of exponential growth can manifest another kind of stability, dynamic kinetic stability (DKS). It is this stability kind based on time/persistence, rather than on free energy, that offers a basis for understanding the evolutionary process. Furthermore, a threshold distance from equilibrium, leading to irreversibility in the reproduction cycle, is needed to switch the directive for evolution from thermodynamic to DKS. The present report develops these lines of thought and argues against the validity of a thermodynamic approach in which the maximisation of the rate of energy dissipation/entropy production is considered to direct the evolutionary process. More generally, our analysis reaffirms the predominant role of kinetics in the self-organisation of life, which, in turn, allows an assessment of semi-quantitative constraints on systems and environments from which life could evolve.
Fichier principal
Vignette du fichier
1860-5397-13-66.pdf (447.77 Ko) Télécharger le fichier
Origine : Fichiers éditeurs autorisés sur une archive ouverte

Dates et versions

hal-03542860 , version 1 (25-01-2022)

Licence

Paternité

Identifiants

Citer

Addy Pross, Robert Pascal. How and why kinetics, thermodynamics, and chemistry induce the logic of biological evolution. Beilstein Journal of Organic Chemistry, 2017, 13, pp.665-674. ⟨10.3762/bjoc.13.66⟩. ⟨hal-03542860⟩
19 Consultations
34 Téléchargements

Altmetric

Partager

Gmail Facebook X LinkedIn More