title: Conway's "Game of Life" and the Epigenetic Principle.
abstract: Cellular automatons and computer simulation games are widely used as heuristic devices in biology, to explore implications and consequences of specific theories. Conway's Game of Life has been widely used for this purpose. This game was designed to explore the evolution of ecological communities. We apply it to other biological processes, including symbiopoiesis. We show that Conway's organization of rules reflects the epigenetic principle, that genetic action and developmental processes are inseparable dimensions of a single biological system, analogous to the integration processes in symbiopoiesis. We look for similarities and differences between two epigenetic models, by Turing and Edelman, as they are realized in Game of Life objects. We show the value of computer simulations to experiment with and propose generalizations of broader scope with novel testable predictions. We use the game to explore issues in symbiopoiesis and evo-devo, where we explore a fractal hypothesis: that self-similarity exists at different levels (cells, organisms, ecological communities) as a result of homologous interactions of two as processes modeled in the Game of Life.
authors.affiliation: Centro de Ciencias de la Complejidad C3, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México Mexico City, Mexico.
authors.forename: Lorena
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Caballero
authors.affiliation: Institute for Culture and Society, Western Sydney University Parramatta, NSW, Australia.
authors.forename: Bob
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Hodge
authors.affiliation: Centro de Ciencias de la Complejidad C3, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México Mexico City, Mexico.
authors.forename: Sergio
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hernandez
mesh_terms: D005075:Biological Evolution; D003198:Computer Simulation; D004247:DNA; D057890:Epigenomics; D005716:Game Theory; D006801:Humans; D019369:Life; D008954:Models, Biological; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D009991:Oscillometry
chemical_list: D004247:DNA
keywords: Turing; computer simulations; epigenetics; fractality; game of life