Chemoton
Encyclopedia
The chemoton is an abstract model for life introduced by Tibor Gánti in 1971. Its aim was to define the minimal model of a living organism
.
A living system:
Such a system may be called alive, since it can live, replicate in its proper environment and it can evolve, since there is an information system.
Organism
In biology, an organism is any contiguous living system . In at least some form, all organisms are capable of response to stimuli, reproduction, growth and development, and maintenance of homoeostasis as a stable whole.An organism may either be unicellular or, as in the case of humans, comprise...
.
A living system:
- Has to be separated from its environment.
- Has to perform metabolismMetabolismMetabolism is the set of chemical reactions that happen in the cells of living organisms to sustain life. These processes allow organisms to grow and reproduce, maintain their structures, and respond to their environments. Metabolism is usually divided into two categories...
with its environment. - It must replicateReplicateReplicate may refer to:* In biology, replication is a process by which genetic material, a cell, or an organism reproduces or makes an exact copy or copies...
itself. - It has to have a polymer type subsystem carrying information.
- It must have an autocatalytic system, which is connected to the metabolism and creates the stuff needed to grow its boundary and to replicate its information system.
Such a system may be called alive, since it can live, replicate in its proper environment and it can evolve, since there is an information system.
See also
- Hypercycle (chemistry)Hypercycle (chemistry)A Hypercycle is a new level of organization whereby self-replicative units are connected in a cyclic, autocatalytic manner. The self-replicative units are themselves catalytic cycles. The Hypercycle is a specific model of the chemical origin of life, pioneered by Eigen and Schuster...
by Manfred EigenManfred EigenManfred Eigen is a German biophysical chemist who won the 1967 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for work on measuring fast chemical reactions.-Career:...
and Peter SchusterPeter SchusterPeter K. Schuster is a renowned theoretical chemist, known for his work with the German Nobel Laureate Manfred Eigen in developing the quasispecies model... - Quasispecies modelQuasispecies modelThe quasispecies model is a description of the process of the Darwinian evolution of certain self-replicating entities within the framework of physical chemistry...