Code center > Suggestions

Self-Modifying DNA

<< < (2/3) > >>

shvarz:
In real organisms modification of DNA (as far as actual change in DNA sequence) only occurs to remove the complexity, never to create something new.  Immune system removes large chunks of DNA to generate diversity in it's recognition pattern.  It does not create this diversity, each cell simply picks out a particular variant from existing variety.  Increased mutability is also an option, but it won't be able to create new stuff intelligently.  As it was mentioned above, purposful creation of new useful DNA would imply intelligence.

Numsgil:
And some incredibly intelligent tools I think.  I'm not sure how to intelligently give the bots tools for their DNA modification that are anything more than dirty hacks.

Endy:
We just need a way for a bot to mutate a child in a limited fashion, then select for a trait or traits it would like to see. There's no real intelligence in our immune systems, they only apply an evolutionary pressure for the cells to develope novel recognition patterns.

The real trick will be deciding what to mutate and then select for. Presumably evolution will also be able to use this to create hotspot locations in spots that need greater than normal mutation rates to help overall species survival.

Endy:
Let me see if I can explain this better.

One unit is the selector and the other is the selectee.

Only the selectee can mutate, the selector needs to stay constant.

As long as this is accomplished any system can be directed to evolve along relativly certain lines.

While your own dna can't make new useful dna purposfully, it can set-up the initial probability that something useful will be created.

Numsgil:
Maybe we add some meta tags to the DNA.  Things that aren't directly "in" the DNA stream, but sit "on top" of it that helps direct mutations.

Navigation

[0] Message Index

[#] Next page

[*] Previous page