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The Origin of Early Specificity.The Order, Complexity and Diversity of Life

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Book cover Between Necessity and Probability: Searching for the Definition and Origin of Life

Part of the book series: Advances in Astrobiology and Biogeophysics ((ASTROBIO,volume 2))

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Abstract

One of the key assets of life is its ability to maintain a low level of internal entropy while avoiding reaching minimal levels of it. Understanding the origin and evolution of this controlled equilibrium is complicated by the fact that more than one of the key properties of life such as order, complexity and diversity can relate to entropy and that one is often mistaken for the other. Order is often confused with organization, which is in turn confused with complexity, while complexity is often misinterpreted as diversity.

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Radu, P. The Origin of Early Specificity.The Order, Complexity and Diversity of Life. In: Between Necessity and Probability: Searching for the Definition and Origin of Life. Advances in Astrobiology and Biogeophysics, vol 2. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-39955-1_4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-39955-1_4

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-540-20490-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-540-39955-1

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