Towards an engineering theory of evolution.
review · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 34099656.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1038/s41467-021-23573-3 and PMC identifier 8185075.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
Biological technologies are fundamentally unlike any other because biology evolves. Bioengineering therefore requires novel design methodologies with evolution at their core. Knowledge about evolution is currently applied to the design of biosystems ad hoc. Unless we have an engineering theory of evolution, we will neither be able to meet evolution's potential as an engineering tool, nor understand or limit its unintended consequences for our biological designs. Here, we propose the evotype as a helpful concept for engineering the evolutionary potential of biosystems, or other self-adaptive technologies, potentially beyond the realm of biology.
Medical subject headings
- Bioengineering
- Biological Evolution