  Biological systems reach organizational complexity that far exceeds the
complexity of any known inanimate objects. Biological entities undoubtedly obey
the laws of quantum physics and statistical mechanics. However, is modern
physics sufficient to adequately describe, model and explain the evolution of
biological complexity? Detailed parallels have been drawn between statistical
thermodynamics and the population-genetic theory of biological evolution. Based
on these parallels, we outline new perspectives on biological innovation and
major transitions in evolution, and introduce a biological equivalent of
thermodynamic potential that reflects the innovation propensity of an evolving
population. Deep analogies have been suggested to also exist between the
properties of biological entities and processes, and those of frustrated states
in physics, such as glasses. We extend such analogies by examining
frustration-type phenomena, such as conflicts between different levels of
selection, in biological evolution. We further address evolution in
multidimensional fitness landscapes from the point of view of percolation
theory and suggest that percolation at level above the critical threshold
dictates the tree-like evolution of complex organisms. Taken together, these
multiple connections between fundamental processes in physics and biology imply
that construction of a meaningful physical theory of biological evolution might
not be a futile effort.
