  Recently we introduced a model of symbiosis, Model-S, based on the evolution
of seed patterns in Conway's Game of Life. In the model, the fitness of a seed
pattern is measured by one-on-one competitions in the Immigration Game, a
two-player variation of the Game of Life. Our previous article showed that
Model-S can serve as a highly abstract, simplified model of biological life:
(1) The initial seed pattern is analogous to a genome. (2) The changes as the
game runs are analogous to the development of the phenome. (3) Tournament
selection in Model-S is analogous to natural selection in biology. (4) The
Immigration Game in Model-S is analogous to competition in biology. (5) The
first three layers in Model-S are analogous to biological reproduction. (6) The
fusion of seed patterns in Model-S is analogous to symbiosis. The current
article takes this analogy two steps further: (7) Autopoietic structures in the
Game of Life (still lifes, oscillators, and spaceships -- collectively known as
ashes) are analogous to cells in biology. (8) The seed patterns in the Game of
Life give rise to multiple, diverse, cooperating autopoietic structures,
analogous to multicellular biological life. We use the apgsearch software (Ash
Pattern Generator Search), developed by Adam Goucher for the study of ashes, to
analyze autopoiesis and multicellularity in Model-S. We find that the fitness
of evolved seed patterns in Model-S is highly correlated with the diversity and
quantity of multicellular autopoietic structures.
