ORGANIZERS:
Ghil’ad Zuckermann, University of Adelaide
Tzachi Pilpel, Weizmann Institute of Science
Natural languages and genomes are both systems that transmit and process information. Both evolve over time, being subject to the forces of natural selection and drift. Like language, genomes are written over texts made of well-defined alphabets with translation systems that convert between them, with means to process the texts, proofread them, edit, splice and interpret. The language metaphor in genomics is so deeply rooted that biologists habitually describe their systems through terms and concepts such as "transcription", "translation", "proofreading", "genomics words and motifs" and "molecular syntax and semantics". The conference will provide a nurturing environment for exploring and exercising unexplored links between genomics, languages and evolution.