Month: September 2022

DIGITAL JURASSIC. “We must take steps to shape the emergence of artificial organisms; they have the potential to be either the ugliest terrestrial disaster, or the most beautiful creation of humanity." ( Los Alamos National Laboratory, and the Santa Fe Insitute).” https://lnkd.in/dMvAeqz View in LinkedIn

ARTIFICIAL LIFE. “Computer viruses are the first and only form of artificial life to have had a measurable impact on society.” https://books.google.com/books?id=8a6uC0BbyjAC&pg=PA130&lpg=PA130&dq=computer+viruses+as+artificial+life&source=bl&ots=Uh-Oksfh6f&sig=f8yHoGRadVGtO8pucwuImn5PLPo&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjxloe0q47LAhUCMyYKHVyyBhYQ6AEIJjAF View in LinkedIn

WILDINGS. “Unique among all forms of artificial life, computer viruses have escaped their playpens and have established themselves pervasively through the the world's computing environment. Of the world's 100-200 million PC and Macintosh users n the world...up to half a million have been infected at some time or another.” https://books.google.com/books?id=8a6uC0BbyjAC&pg=PA130&lpg=PA130&dq=computer+viruses+as+artificial+life&source=bl&ots=Uh-Oksfh6f&sig=f8yHoGRadVGtO8pucwuImn5PLPo&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjxloe0q47LAhUCMyYKHVyyBhYQ6AEIJjAF View in LinkedIn

ECOSYSTEMS. “Computer viruses exhibit "species" with well-defined ecological niches based on host machine type and variations within these species. These species are adapted to specific environments and will not survive if moved to a different environment.” https://books.google.com/books?id=qErpoKjc1h4C&pg=PA261&lpg=PA261&dq=computer+virus+metabolism&source=bl&ots=NWmF_p3xqj&sig=XEfXy2VQZdbYQgBJSndUVHbkDSI&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi51qLC35fLAhUBcj4KHQW-B9AQ6AEIFzAE View in LinkedIn

DEFINED NICHES. “Some viruses also exhibit predatory behavior. For instance, the DenZuk virus will seek up and overwrite its traces of the Brain virus if they are both present on the same system.” https://books.google.com/books?id=qErpoKjc1h4C&pg=PA261&lpg=PA261&dq=computer+virus+metabolism&source=bl&ots=NWmF_p3xqj&sig=XEfXy2VQZdbYQgBJSndUVHbkDSI&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi51qLC35fLAhUBcj4KHQW-B9AQ6AEIFzAE View in LinkedIn

SPECIALIZATION. “Other viruses exhibit territorial behavior -- marking their infected domain so that others of the same type will not enter and compete with the original infection.” https://books.google.com/books?id=qErpoKjc1h4C&pg=PA261&lpg=PA261&dq=computer+virus+metabolism&source=bl&ots=NWmF_p3xqj&sig=XEfXy2VQZdbYQgBJSndUVHbkDSI&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi51qLC35fLAhUBcj4KHQW-B9AQ6AEIFzAE View in LinkedIn

LATENT. “Some viruses also exhibit self-protective behavior, including camouflage techniques.” https://books.google.com/books?id=qErpoKjc1h4C&pg=PA261&lpg=PA261&dq=computer+virus+metabolism&source=bl&ots=NWmF_p3xqj&sig=XEfXy2VQZdbYQgBJSndUVHbkDSI&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi51qLC35fLAhUBcj4KHQW-B9AQ6AEIFzAE View in LinkedIn

VARIATION. “Mutations that provide organisms with a reproductive advantage over others (beneficial mutations) will tend to propagate to future generations. It is important to note that the fraction of beneficial mutations (among all those that can occur) is usually very small, with most mutations being deleterious and the rest neutral.” http://arxiv.org/pdf/1111.2503 View in LinkedIn

FRAGMENT FROM NATURE focuses on the idea of organisms as machines, a common idea. Günther Witzany is a well published independent author, and brings a fresh perspective on biology. The common language in biology today tends to be mechanistic, with cells as wired machines, replete with engineer-able parts that can be switched on an off. But slowly, we are realizing this is a false analogy. View in LinkedIn

PRESS RESET. “Life's code script does not code itself. The machine metaphor for living organisms is outdated.” https://lnkd.in/dp43QEu View in LinkedIn