Evidence map›Paper›PMID 37166609›Full record

ArticleOrigins of life and evolution of the biosphere : the journal of the International Society for the Study of the Origin of Life2023

Behaviour and the Origin of Organisms.

Matthew Egbert, Martin M Hanczyc, Inman Harvey, Nathaniel Virgo, Emily C Parke, Tom Froese, Hiroki Sayama, Alexandra S Penn, Stuart Bartlett

Abstract read
PubMed Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Origins of life and evolution of the biosphere : the journal of the International Society for the Study of the Origin of Life, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. The challenge of distinguishing living from non-living entities.Theory in biosciences = Theorie in den Biowissenschaften · 2026
    Review
  2. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors.

Matthew EgbertSchool of Computer Science, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand. m.egbert@auckland.ac.nz.
Martin M HanczycUniversity of Trento, Trento, Italy.
Inman HarveyUniversity of Sussex, Brighton, UK.
Nathaniel VirgoEarth-Life Science Institute (ELSI), Tokyo Institute of Technology, Tokyo, Japan.
Emily C ParkeTe Ao Mārama, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand.
Tom FroeseEmbodied Cognitive Science Unit, Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (OIST), Okinawa, Japan.
Hiroki SayamaCenter for Collective Dynamics of Complex Systems, Binghamton University, State University of New York, New York, USA.
Alexandra S PennCentre for Evaluation of Complexity at the Nexus, University of Surrey, Guildford, UK.
Stuart BartlettCalifornia Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, USA.

Funding

Marsden Fund 17-UOA-196
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

It is common in origins of life research to view the first stages of life as the passive result of particular environmental conditions. This paper considers the alternative possibility: that the antecedents of life were already actively regulating their environment to maintain the conditions necessary for their own persistence. In support of this proposal, we describe 'viability-based behaviour': a way that simple entities can adaptively regulate their environment in response to their health, and in so doing, increase the likelihood of their survival. Drawing on empirical investigations of simple self-preserving abiological systems, we argue that these viability-based behaviours are simple enough to precede neo-Darwinian evolution. We also explain how their operation can reduce the demanding requirements that mainstream theories place upon the environment(s) in which life emerged.

Indexed as

BehaviourDissipative structuresEarly behaviourOrigins of lifeViability-based behaviour

Identifiers

PMID37166609

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.