Tsutomu OOHASHI, Hiraki SAYAMA, Osamu UENO, Tadao MAEKAWA
ARTIFICIAL LIFE BASED ON PROGRAMMED
SELF-DECOMPOSITION MODEL
Abstract:Our study is being carried out based on a paradigm that “death is achieved by the maturity of living organisms, thus being the fruit of evolution.” We previously proposed a biological hypothesis “programmed self-decomposition (PSD) model[1,2]” which assumes that a self-decomposition mechanism is programmed in each cell of all living organisms on earth, and that the mechanism contributes to the restoration of the ecosystem to its original state. To examine this hypothesis, we adopted two different approaches: experiments on virtual life forms and those on actual life forms. In this paper, the design and behavior of a new simulator “SIVA-3” developed on the basis of the PSD model is examined. We also include a summary of the PSD model itself and that of studies done on actual living organisms. The PSD model is formulated as an evolutionally advancing variation of von Neumann's immortal self-reproductive automaton model. We conducted simulations of virtual lives implemented according to these two models. The results suggest the validity of our concept of a self-decomposition mechanism not only for the restoration of the ecosystem but also for evolutionary adaptation of ALife that exists in an environment that is heterogeneous and limited with respect to space and substance. Results of biochemical investigations may suggest that actual living organisms are really provided with a self-decomposition mechanism, and that self-decomposition is a controlled process driven by a genetic programme.