EvoEvo · Evolution of Evolution

Evolution is the major source of complexity on Earth, at the origin of all the species we can observe, interact with or breed. On a smaller scale, evolution is at the heart of the adaptation process for many species, in particular micro-organisms (e.g. bacteria, viruses...). Microbial evolution results in the emergence of the species itself, and it also contributes to the organisms' adaptation to perturbations or environmental changes. These organisms are not only organised by evolution, they are also organised to evolve.<br/>The EvoEvo project will develop new evolutionary approaches in information science and will produce algorithms based on the latest understanding of molecular and evolutionary biology. Our ultimate goal is to address open-ended problems, where the specifications are either unknown or too complicated to express, and to produce software able to operate in unpredictable, varying conditions.<br/>We will start from experimental observations of micro-organism evolution, and abstract this to reproduce EvoEvo, in biological models, in computational models, and in application software. Our aim is to observe EvoEvo in action, to model EvoEvo, to understand EvoEvo and, ultimately, to implement and exploit EvoEvo in software and computational systems.<br/>The EvoEvo project will have impact in ICT, through the development of new technologies. It will also have impact in biology and public health, by providing a better understanding of micro-organism adaptation (such as the emergence of new pathogens or the development of antibiotic resistances).