This week we conclude our two-part discussion with ecologist Mark Ritchie of Syracuse University on how he and his SFI collaborators are starting to rethink the intersections of thermodynamics and biology to better fit our scientific models to the patterns we observe in nature. Most of what we know about the enzymatic processes of plant and animal metabolisms comes from test tube experiments, not studies in the context of a living organism. What changes when we zoom out and think about life’s manufacturing and distribution in situ?
Starting where we left off in in Episode 62, we tour the implications of Mark’s biochemistry research and ask: What can studying the metabolism of cells tell us about economics? How does a better model of photosynthesis change the way we think about climate change and the future of agriculture? Why might a pattern in the failure of plant enzymes help biologists define where to direct the search for life in space?
A better theory of the physics of biomolecules — and the networks in which they’re embedded — provides a clearer understanding of the limits for all living systems, and how those limits shape effective strategies for navigating our complex world.
Welcome to COMPLEXITY, the official podcast of the Santa Fe Institute. I’m your host, Michael Garfield, and every other week we’ll bring you with us for far-ranging conversations with our worldwide network of rigorous researchers developing new frameworks to explain the deepest mysteries of the universe.
If you value our research and communication efforts, please subscribe, rate, and review this show at Apple Podcasts, and/or consider making a donation at santafe.edu/give. You can find numerous other ways to engage with us at santafe.edu/engage. Thank you for listening!
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Related Reading & Listening:
Ritchie Lab at Syracuse University | Mark’s Google Scholar Page | Mark’s soil ecology startup
Reaction and diffusion thermodynamics explain optimal temperatures of biochemical reactions
by Mark Ritchie in Scientific Reports
Thermodynamics Of Far From Equilibrium Systems, Biochemistry, And Life In A Warming World [Mark Ritchie’s 2021 SFI Seminar + @SFIscience Twitter thread on Mark’s talk]
Scale and information-processing thresholds in Holocene social evolution
by Jaeweon Shin, Michael Holton Price, David H. Wolpert, Hajime Shimao, Brendan Tracey & Timothy A. Kohler
Generalized Stoichiometry and Biogeochemistry for Astrobiological Applications
by Christopher P. Kempes, Michael J. Follows, Hillary Smith, Heather Graham, Christopher H. House & Simon A. Levin
Complexity 4: Luis Bettencourt on The Science of Cities
Complexity 5: Jennifer Dunne on Food Webs & ArchaeoEcology
Complexity 17: Chris Kempes on The Physical Constraints on Life & Evolution
Complexity 35: Scaling Laws & Social Networks in The Time of COVID-19 with Geoffrey West
Complexity 41: Natalie Grefenstette on Agnostic Biosignature Detection
Alien Crash Site 15: Cole Mathis on Pathway Assembly and Astrobiology
Podcast theme music by Mitch Mignano.
Cover artwork adapted from photos by Peter Nguyen and Torsten Wittmann (UCSF).
Alien Crash Site Invades Complexity: Tamara van der Does on Sci-Fi Science, with Guest Co-host Caitlin McShea
Mark Moffett on Canopy Biology & The Human Swarm
Cris Moore on Algorithmic Justice & The Physics of Inference
Science in The Time of COVID: Michael Lachmann & Sam Scarpino on Lessons from The Pandemic
Artemy Kolchinsky on "Semantic Information" & The Physics of Meaning
Peter Dodds on Text-Based Timeline Analysis & New Instruments for The Science of Stories
Scott Ortman on Archaeological Synthesis and Settlement Scaling Theory
Helena Miton on Cultural Evolution in Music and Writing Systems
David Wolpert on The No Free Lunch Theorems and Why They Undermine The Scientific Method
Introducing Alien Crash Site, a new SFI Podcast with host Caitlin McShea
Vicky Yang & Henrik Olsson on Political Polling & Polarization: How We Make Decisions & Identities
Carl Bergstrom & Jevin West on Calling Bullshit: The Art of Skepticism in a Data-Driven World
Natalie Grefenstette on Agnostic Biosignature Detection
The Information Theory of Biology & Origins of Life with Sara Imari Walker (Big Biology Podcast Crossover)
Fractal Conflicts & Swing Voters with Eddie Lee
Fighting Hate Speech with AI & Social Science (with Joshua Garland, Mirta Galesic, and Keyan Ghazi-Zahedi)
The Art & Science of Resilience in the Wake of Trauma with Laurence Gonzales
Geoffrey West on Scaling, Open-Ended Growth, and Accelerating Crisis/Innovation Cycles: Transcendence or Collapse? (Part 2)
Scaling Laws & Social Networks in The Time of COVID-19 with Geoffrey West (Part 1)
Better Scientific Modeling for Ecological & Social Justice with David Krakauer (Transmission Series Ep. 7)
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