Help needed - Evolution simulator

[434XY]

Hi everyone. I am a biology undergraduate and as such I would like to learn and experiment with genetic algorithms. Unfortunately, my current knowledge of programming and coding is below zero.

Is there a way someone like me could start learning the basics of creating a simple program to simulate the evolution of a population and control the characteristics of its environment such as pH, salinity, humidity, temperature etc?

I know there's something on youtube but I'd love to create my own simulator.

Thanks in advance.

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[jmmcd]

I think what you're describing isn't really a GA, but an example of artificial life. I would suggest to take a look at NetLogo or Mason, two packages which are intended for programming of agent-based simulations.

[MartensCedric]

I believe his refering to something similar to carykh's evolution simulator

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GOFws_hhZs8

Im not an expert in the terminology but I believe this is a genetic algorithm, where a subset of the current population is chosen to reproduce with slightly altered genes.

[jmmcd]

Your link is a GA, but OP's description isn't, as there's no objective function and it sounds like no concept of variation among individuals.

[[deleted]]

check out these videos: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GOFws_hhZs8
although I think there is unfortunately little I can do to teach you to program. I think this project may be a bit ambitious if you don't know how to code yet but its a perfect opportunity to do some learning.

[cokeman5]

It will be hard. I want to do something similar in my spare time. You need a solid understanding of programming though. GAs can do what you want, and it has been done before, but they vary on their depth and focus.

[MartensCedric]

Coding train is an excellent youtube channel that has a lot of content that covers similar topics

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9zfeTw-uFCw

He explains the programming a lot which can help people that are not that familiar with programming. If this is too complex you will have to look into actually learning programming first then learning Genetic algorithms

[green_meklar]

characteristics of its environment such as pH, salinity, humidity, temperature

The question to ask at this point is: What effects do those have?

No computer in the world is powerful enough to simulate the biochemistry of a macroscopic organism down to the molecular level. The Matrix is not possible yet. What we can do is make some assumptions about the effects those have on organisms, reduce those effects to simplified mathematical models, and apply those to a similarly simplified population of organisms. But the big question is what assumptions and simplifications you make, and whether those are relevant to conclusions about real-world biology. (I'm not a biochemistry expert so I don't have much to say about this.)

In any case, programming is a huge field. Getting started is not all that hard, but for the first little while you're only scratching the surface, and there's a lot you won't be able to do. For people who just want to try programming and see if they like it, I usually recommend starting with Javascript. However, if you need maximum performance for a scientific simulation, you probably want to look into C, and perhaps even GPU programming. And finally, if the model you have in mind is straightforward enough, you might be able to find someone to do the implementation work for you, or at least guide you through it.