The boundary between inanimate matter and living organisms is being actively redefined by advances in non-equilibrium thermodynamics, synthetic biology, and active matter. At the heart of this intersection is the quest to understand the origin of life (abiogenesis) and to construct artificial life-like systems from scratch.

A foundational concept in this field is the "dissipative structure," coined by Nobel laureate Ilya Prigogine. Dissipative structures are thermodynamically open systems existing far from equilibrium; they spontaneously create and maintain complex order by continuously exchanging energy and matter with their surroundings. Building on this, physicist Jeremy England proposed a theory of "dissipative adaptation." He argues that when a random group of atoms is driven by an external energy source and placed in a heat bath, it w ...