BEGIN:VCALENDAR
VERSION:2.0
PRODID:-//RLASKEY//CALENDEROUS//EN
CALSCALE:GREGORIAN
METHOD:PUBLISH
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTAMP:20261015T025134Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20140124T160239Z
DTSTART:20140211T203000Z
DTEND:20140211T213000Z
UID:event1013@bu.edu
URL:http://physics.bu.edu/internal/events/show/1013
SUMMARY:Statistical Mechanics of the Genetic Code: A Glimpse of Early Life?
DESCRIPTION:Featuring Nigel Goldenfeld\, University of Illinois\, Urbana-Ch
	ampaign\nHosted by: David Campbell\nPoster: http://physics.bu.edu/posters/2
	014_Spring/0211_Goldenfeld.pdf\n\nPart of the Physics Department Colloquia 
	Series.\n\nAbstract:\nRelics of early life\, preceding even the last univer
	sal common ancestor of all life on Earth\, are present in the structure of 
	the modern day canonical genetic code --- the map between DNA sequence and 
	amino acids that form proteins.  The code is not random\, as often assumed\
	, but instead is now known to have certain error minimisation properties.  
	How could such a code evolve\, when it would seem that mutations to the cod
	e itself would cause the wrong proteins to be translated\, thus killing the
	 organism?  Using digital life simulations\, I show how a unique and optima
	l genetic code can emerge over evolutionary time\, but only if horizontal g
	ene transfer --- a network effect --- was a much stronger characteristic of
	 early life than it is now.  These results suggest a natural scenario in wh
	ich evolution exhibits three distinct dynamical regimes\, differentiated re
	spectively by the way in which information flow\, genetic novelty and compl
	exity emerge. Possible observational signatures of these predictions are di
	scussed.\n\nReference: K. Vetsigian\, C.R. Woese and Nigel Goldenfeld. Comm
	unal evolution of the genetic code. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 103 \, 10696-107
	01 (2006) .
LOCATION:SCI 109\, 590 Commonwealth Avenue\, 02215
STATUS:CONFIRMED
CLASS:PUBLIC
END:VEVENT
END:VCALENDAR