School of Computer Science, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand.
Te Ao Mārama, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand.
Orig Life Evol Biosph. 2023 Jun;53(1-2):87-112. doi: 10.1007/s11084-023-09635-0. Epub 2023 May 11.
It is common in origins of life research to view the first stages of life as the passive result of particular environmental conditions. This paper considers the alternative possibility: that the antecedents of life were already actively regulating their environment to maintain the conditions necessary for their own persistence. In support of this proposal, we describe 'viability-based behaviour': a way that simple entities can adaptively regulate their environment in response to their health, and in so doing, increase the likelihood of their survival. Drawing on empirical investigations of simple self-preserving abiological systems, we argue that these viability-based behaviours are simple enough to precede neo-Darwinian evolution. We also explain how their operation can reduce the demanding requirements that mainstream theories place upon the environment(s) in which life emerged.
在生命起源研究中，人们通常将生命的最初阶段视为特定环境条件的被动结果。本文考虑了另一种可能性：生命的前身已经在积极地调节环境，以维持自身持续存在的必要条件。为了支持这一观点，我们描述了“基于生存能力的行为”：一种简单实体可以自适应地调节环境以响应其健康状况的方式，从而增加其生存的可能性。通过对简单的自我保护非生物系统的实证研究，我们认为这些基于生存能力的行为足够简单，可以先于新达尔文主义进化出现。我们还解释了它们的运作方式如何降低主流理论对生命出现的环境（或环境）所提出的苛刻要求。
