Life on Earth represents only a tiny fraction of possible biological forms
What forms does life take on Earth? This is the question asked by scientists from the University of Toulouse and the CNRS, who are exploring the morphological limits of life on a large scale for the first time. Using a new mathematical framework, they demonstrate that life tends to produce relatively simple forms and evolve over the very long term along a trajectory dictated by physical, metabolic, and developmental constraints. Their findings, published in Science Advances on January 7, could offer new perspectives for the search for potential life in the universe.
Research into the origin of life and its possible presence in the universe has never been so active. To detect it, science brings together specialists from several disciplines—biology, paleontology, genetics, physics, and chemistry—and attempts to define its properties in terms of chemical composition, functions, capabilities, and organization in relation to the inert world. However, paradoxically, the most obvious and tangible aspect of life has never been formally evaluated: its shape.
Thus, basic questions such as “What types of geometries can living beings produce?” or “Are there general limits or rules governing the evolution of living forms?” currently have no satisfactory answers at the biosphere level. The reason is simple: there is no theoretical framework for rationally comparing and quantifying geometries and structures as complex and diverse as those of the living beings that inhabit Earth.
Read more scientific news on the University of Toulouse website (in French).
GET contacts: Guillaume Dera, Elise Nardin
