The DOI matches its Crossref record; 4 of the 4 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Assembly theory explains and quantifies selection and evolution
Open accessAbstract
Scientists have grappled with reconciling biological evolution 1,2 with the immutable laws of the Universe defined by physics. These laws underpin life’s origin, evolution and the development of human culture and technology, yet they do not predict the emergence of these phenomena. Evolutionary theory explains why some things exist and others do not through the lens of selection. To comprehend how diverse, open-ended forms can emerge from physics without an inherent design blueprint, a new approach to understanding and quantifying selection is necessary 3–5 . We present assembly theory (AT) as a framework that does not alter the laws of physics, but redefines the concept of an ‘object’ on which these laws act. AT conceptualizes objects not as point particles, but as entities defined by their possible formation histories. This allows objects to show evidence of selection, within well-defined boundaries of individuals or selected units. We introduce a measure called assembly ( A ), capturing the degree of causation required to produce a given ensemble of objects. This approach enables us to incorporate novelty generation and selection into the physics of complex objects. It explains how these objects can be characterized through a forward dynamical process considering their assembly. By reimagining the concept of matter within assembly spaces, AT provides a powerful interface between physics and biology. It discloses a new aspect of physics emerging at the chemical scale, whereby history and causal contingency influence what exists.
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The logic of assembly spaces may lead to certain types of universal convergence.
“These shape evolution and shift the way one should think about sequence search conditioned on the past, where the logic of assembly spaces may lead to certain types of universal convergence [56].”
From Fundamental constraints to the logic of living systems (2024) · cites this paper as [56]
In “Selection within assembly spaces” (page unavailable), the paper says selection and historical contingency constrain what can be made in the future, supporting the idea that assembly-space logic shapes evolutionary possibilities. “The assembly equation” describes shared assembly pathways, but the copy does not say that those constraints may produce universal convergence; that part remains unsupported. (LLM, conf=0.78)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredEntities within evolutionary systems emerge within assembly spaces and are constructed from components over evolutionary timescales.
“Entities within the system emerge within assembly spaces [2,55,56]. They are constructed from components over evolutionary timescales.”
From Fundamental constraints to the logic of living systems (2024) · cites this paper as [56]
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Citations
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Identifying molecules as biosignatures with assembly theory and mass spectrometry
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Cited by
Sorted by citations
Fundamental constraints to the logic of living systems
Solé, R., Kempes, C. P., Corominas-Murtra, B., De Domenico, M., Kolchinsky, A., Lachmann, M., Libby, E., Saavedra, S., Smith, E., & Wolpert, D. (2024) · Interface Focus · doi:10.1098/rsfs.2024.0010 · Cited by 34
“Entities within the system emerge within assembly spaces [2,55,56].”
BackgroundSelf-citationTowards violations of Local Friendliness with quantum computers
Zeng, W. J., Labib, F., & Russo, V. (2025) · Quantum · doi:10.22331/q-2025-09-05-1851
“The remaining nodes [46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 37, 33, 32, 31] (highlighted in yellow)represent the size of Charlie’s system for progressively higher qubit systems.”
Metadata
- Authors
- Sharma, A., Czégel, D., Lachmann, M., Kempes, C. P., Walker, S. I., & Cronin, L.
- Affiliations
- University of Glasgow (GB)
- HUN-REN Centre for Ecological Research (HU)
- Santa Fe Institute (US)
- Arizona State University (US)
- Corresponding author
- Walker, Sara I.
- Cronin, Leroy
- ORCID
- Venue
- Nature
- Published
- 2023-10-04
- Volume
- 622
- Issue
- 7982
- Pages
- 321-328
- ISSN
- 0028-0836 (ISSN-L)
- 1476-4687
- PMC
- PMC10567559
- OpenAlex
- W4387332482
- Cited by
- 184
- References
- 4
- Citations by year
- 2026: 55 · 2025: 64 · 2024: 58 · 2023: 7
- FWCI
- 165.92
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Locations
- Nature (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- ENLIGHTEN (Jurnal Bimbingan dan Konseling Islam) (acceptedVersion, cc-by-sa)
- RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- National Aeronautics and Space Administration (80NSSC18K1140)
- John Templeton Foundation (62231, 61184)
- Arizona State University
- Breakthrough Prize Foundation
- University of Glasgow
- Nuclear Safety and Security Commission
- Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EP/S019472/1, EP/R01308X/1, EP/P00153X/1, EP/L023652/1)
- H2020 European Research Council (670467)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › History and Philosophy of Science › Philosophy of Biology and Scientific Explanation
- Physical Sciences › Physics and Astronomy › Statistical and Nonlinear Physics › Complex Systems and Dynamics
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Genetics › Evolution and Genetic Dynamics
- Keywords
- assembly theory, selection, evolution, formation history, novelty generation, origin of life, complex objects, open-ended evolution
- MeSH terms
- Origin of Life, Animals, Cultural Evolution, Biological Evolution, Humans, Models, Theoretical, Physics, Selection, Genetic, Inventions
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