What is it about?
Life shows an extreme variety of forms and behaviors. This paper suggests a way to think of this infinite intricacy in simple terms: it presents all living matter as a cascade, that is a hierarchy, of machines that make other machines. This cascade begins with small molecules made of atoms, continues to the molecular machines built from these atoms, and so forth until we reach the cell - the smallest machine that can make itself. In the second part of the cascade, cells are assembled into tissues, organs, and organisms. And organisms make populations, and ecological systems, including our civilization, up to the whole biosphere. Thus, we expand over 30 orders of magnitude in time and 18 in space. This is the cascade of machines.
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Why is it important?
The cascade of machines is a simplified language that still captures some essential features of life: its multiscale organization that is very dense in loops and cycles.
Perspectives
This conceptual framework can be the basis for developing more sophisticated mathematical descriptions of life.
Tsvi Tlusty
Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Life sets off a cascade of machines, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, January 2025, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences,
DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2418000122.
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