An interactive browser-based laboratory for exploring Lee Cronin's Assembly Theory — a revolutionary framework (Nature 2023) that measures molecular complexity through assembly indices to detect signatures of selection, evolution, and potentially alien life.
- Assembly Index Engine — Build molecular graphs, compute assembly index via shortest pathway decomposition
- Assembly Space Navigator — Explore the DAG of all possible construction pathways
- Selection Amplifier — Monte Carlo: random vs selection-driven chemistry
- Copy Number Threshold Detector — The life detection boundary (a ≥ 15)
- Pathway Compression Arena — Assembly index vs Shannon entropy vs LZW vs Kolmogorov
- Abiogenesis Simulator — Chemical evolution from primordial soup to autocatalytic sets
Assembly Theory measures molecular complexity through the "assembly index" — the minimum number of joining operations needed to construct a molecule from basic building blocks, reusing previously made subassemblies. The key finding: molecules with assembly index ≥ 15 and high copy numbers are almost exclusively produced by living systems.
- Single HTML file, zero dependencies
- Canvas 2D rendering
- All algorithms implemented in pure JavaScript
- Dark theme
MIT
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