Scientists: universe grows ‘like a brain’

A study published in the scientific journal Nature concludes that the way universe evolves is remarkably similar to the growth of a brain.

Using complicated computer simulations, a team of physicists showed that natural growth dynamics are basically universal across different networks. Be it human brain synapses, server hubs on Internet, or star systems in the universe – they all build up in similar patterns.

This striking proposition raises new questions about many seemingly solid distinctions. What is the defining difference between ‘nature’ and ‘technology’, ‘life’ and ‘matter’?

The study hints at some undiscovered, fundamental laws governing the growth of all systems. “For a physicist it’s an immediate signal that there is some missing understanding of how nature works,” a co-author of the study, Dmitri Krioukov from the University of San Diego, told Space.com.

Look up the scientific article online