0000000000220149

AUTHOR

Riccardo Tarantino

L'anima dei viventi tra conflitto e unità

Le scoperte biologiche degli ultimi decenni, insieme alle stesse fondamenta teoriche della teoria dell'evoluzione, suggeriscono un'immagine dinamica della vita, intesa come un processo di continua riorganizzazione. Anche una parola antica come “anima”, per essere riproposta all'interno di uno scenario di tale sconvolgente profondità, necessita di una nuova riorganizzazione, basata proprio sui presupposti della biologia contemporanea. In particolare, il dualismo tra competizione tra linee ereditarie alternative e tendenza all'aggregazione di tali linee, riscontrabile in molti dei casi di studio proposti nell'articolo, costituisce un fondamentale motore per la costituzione di sistemi compless…

research product

Modeling of Hardy-Weinberg Equilibrium Using Dynamic Random Networks in an ABM Framework

Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium is the fundamental principle of population genetics. In this article, we present a new NetLogo model called “Hardy-Weinberg Basic model v 2.0”, characterized by a strict adherence to the original assumptions made by Hardy and Weinberg in 1908. A particularly significant feature of this model is that the algorithm does not make use of the binomial expansion formula. Instead, we show that using a procedure based on dynamic random networks, diploid equilibrium can be achieved spontaneously by a population of agents reproducing sexually in a Mendelian fashion. The model can be used to conduct simulations with a wide range of initial population sizes and genotype distr…

research product

Creativity by copying: imitating life as a work of imagination

Engineering biological systems is easily interpretable as a process of mere and cold replication, or even distortion, of the natural domain, since it is often linked to industry and built on the Cartesian assumption of human rationality’s control over asubmissive nature. In this article, I approach living systems design from an alternative perspective, supporting its similarities with activities which are traditionally associated with creativity, like arts. I show that different kinds of creativity are deeply involved in copying, composing, and modifying life, focusing on two different levels: that of scientific modelling, recognisable by looking at biological circuits design, and that of a…

research product