From protocells to biospheres, and from Daisyworld to ExoGaia models, we show how informational dynamics can unify physics, biology & complexity science.
Grateful to amazing co-authors: Bartlett, Eckford, Egbert, Lingam, Kolchinsky, @adamfrank4.bsky.social .

The roadmap highlights:
• Theoretical frameworks linking information to viability
• Experiments with synthetic cells, active matter & molecular communication
• Origins & astrobiology: life as a transition to information-driven systems

Instead of asking how much energy life uses, we ask:

How much does life need to “know” to keep a planet habitable?
A step toward detecting life via informational fingerprints.
#Astrobiology #GaiaTheory #SemanticInformation #Exoplanets #Biosignatures

Our Exo-Daisy World model shows:
– Biospheres restructure environmental correlations
– Viability depends on semantic thresholds
– Informational feedback leaves biosignatures

This is Gaia theory reimagined through the lens of information.

Read the full paper (finally published!)
📄 ‪@hss.springernature.com‬
🔗 doi.org/10.1057/s415...
With Sean Kelty, Raiyan Baten, Adiba Proma, Ehsan Hoque, Johan Bollen, and me.
#ScienceOfScience #Innovation #AcademicLife

Meanwhile, researchers who publish at the same rate without superstar ties?
👉 More novel
👉 More disruptive
👉 Less visible
Prestige gives a boost—but not necessarily to originality.

We analyzed 650k+ physics papers.
Researchers with close ties to “superstars” (via citations/collabs):
✅ Publish more
✅ Get cited more
But…
❌ Are less innovative
❌ Less disruptive
❌ More redundant
Once superstar co-authors are removed, the edge vanishes.