Internship and thesis proposals
Contingent dynamics in unbounded chemical networks: towards the emergence of prebiotic Darwinian processes

Domaines
Biophysics
Physics of living systems

Type of internship
Théorique, numérique
Description
This internship explores the emergence of prebiotic Darwinian processes in unbounded chemical networks. While existing models focus on autocatalytic cycles within finite chemical networks, this project aims to simulate infinite networks generated stochastically from simple chemical rules, considering a finite number of particles. This approach naturally incorporates chance effects, central to evolution, and produces dynamics that may be only partially reproducible. The goal is to understand how natural selection could arise in a purely physico-chemical context, at the origin of life. Simulations will be developed within the EmergeNS platform (C++), featuring a graphical interface and advanced visualization tools. The internship will take place at LBBE (Lyon) in a highly interdisciplinary environment bridging evolutionary biology, ecology, physics, and mathematics, with potential continuation as a PhD project at LBBE or PIMIT.

Contact
Sylvain Charlat
0687185221


Email
Laboratory : LBBE - UMR5558
Team : Génétique et Evolution des Interactions
Team Website
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