Life systems are complex and hierarchical, with diverse components at different scales, yet they sustain themselves, grow and evolve over time. Here we note that for a hierarchical biological system to be robust, it must achieve consistency between micro-scale (e.g. molecular) and macro-scale (e.g. cellular) phenomena, which allows for a universal theory of adaptive changes in biological systems. The talk will present a demonstration of how adaptive changes in high-dimensional phenotypes (biological states) are constrained to low-dimensional manifold, leading to a macroscopic law for cellular states, as confirmed by adaptation experiments of bacteria. The theory is then extended to evolution, leading to the proportionality between phenotypic variations due to environmental adaptation and genetic changes. This finding allows the prediction of evolution, as demonstrated experimentally. Finally, we extend this theory to the development of multicellular organisms, and discuss how irreversible cell differentiation and the robustness of developmental pathways (homeorhesis) are acquired. Overall, this talk highlights the potential for physics to the study of biology through a universal perspective and the development of macroscopic theories for living systems.

If you would like to attend the seminar, please register here.

References:

Kaneko, K.(2024) "Constructing universal Phenomenology for biological cellular systems: An idiosyncratic review on evolutionary dimensional reduction", Journal of Statistical Mechanics: (JSTAT)  024002

Furusawa, C, Kaneko. K. (2018) "Formation of Dominant Mode by Evolution in Biological Systems” Phys. Rev. E 97, 042410

Kaneko, K., Furusawa, C. (2018) “Macroscopic Theory for Evolving Biological Systems Akin to Thermodynamics”, Annual Rev. Biophys. 47, 273-290

Matsushita, Y., & Kaneko, K. (2020). Homeorhesis in Waddington's landscape by epigenetic feedback regulation. Physical Review Research, 2(2), 023083.

Kohsokabe, T., Kuratanai, S., & Kaneko, K. (2024). Developmental hourglass: Verification by numerical evolution and elucidation by dynamical-systems theory. PLOS Computational Biology, 20(2), e1011867

Kaneko, K.(2025) "Universal Biology”, Cambridge University Press, in press