Groundbreaking new 'Theory of Everything' unites physics and evolution

in the vast tapestry of scientific understanding, certain interdisciplinary gaps continue to challenge our conception of the Universe. (CREDIT: Creative Commons)

Some transdisciplinary gaps in the great tapestry of scientific knowing nevertheless cast doubt on our understanding of the universe. There is one such divide between the fields of evolution and physics

Evolution and the formation of particular features and cultural nuances have not yet been completely integrated into the predictability of physical theory, despite one's expectation that the complicated dance of biological life would do so.

All of that, though, could be about to alter

Under the innovative direction of theoretical physicist Sara Walker of Arizona State University and chemist Lee Cronin of the University of Glasgow, an international group of specialists may have discovered a way to cross this gap in science.

The novel idea they have presented is known as "Assembly Theory." This hypothesis not only contains the key to answering one of the most intriguing problems in space exploration: the search for extraterrestrial life, but it also promises new insights into the basic fabric of life.

In further detail, Walker says, "Assembly theory provides a completely new lens for looking at physics, chemistry, and biology as different perspectives of the same underlying reality." This is a revolutionary approach.

This has enormous ramifications. "With this theory," says Walker, "we can start to close the gap between reductionist physics and Darwinian evolution – it's a major step towards a fundamental theory unifying inert and living matter."

Seeing objects in their changing context is the fundamental component of this integration. According to the proposal, an object's essence is inextricably linked to time and encompasses more than just its present form. This includes both its creation history and its dormant morphological potential.

This research builds on the team's previous work developing Assembly Theory as an empirically validated approach to life detection. (CREDIT: Dr Anna Tanczos, Sci-Comm Studios

In order to unravel the intricacy innate in evolutionary routes, the group conducted extensive research and developed a'molecular complexity index'. This index identified the bare minimum steps required for molecule synthesis and assigned difficulty scores based on how many steps there were. Amazingly, only life and some industrial activities resulted in molecules requiring more than 15 construction steps.