Professor Chris Adami
Applied Life Sciences
Keck Graduate Institute
Claremont, CA

Monday, February 21, 2011
3:00 pm (CT)
3269 Beckman Institute

Abstract

I present an overview of experimental evolution work using the digital life form "Avida". Avida implements an environment inside standard computers where computer programs can self-replicate and evolve. These programs develop a type of computational metabolism that produces the necessary energy to replicate, and adapt to user-created landscapes with "genomes" that increase in complexity. I review work on the evolution of mutational robustness, adaptive radiation, the evolution of complex features, as well as recent work about the evolution of altruism-targeting.