Genetic approaches to search for computing patterns in cellular automata

The emergence of computation in complex systems "with simple components is a hot topic in the science of complexity. A uniform framework to study emergent computation in complex systems are cellular automata. They are discrete systems in which an array of cells evolves from generation to generation on the basis of local transition rules. The well-established problem of emergent computation and universality in cellular automata has been tackled by a number of people in the last thirty years and remains an area "where amazing phenomena at the edge of theoretical computer science and nonlinear science can be discovered. Future work could also evaluate all discovered cellular automata and calculate for each cellular automaton some rule-based parameters, e.g., Langtons lamda. All cellular automata simulating an AND gate may have similar values for these parameters that could lead to answer the question Where are the edges of computational universality? and may therefore lead to a better understanding of the emergence of computation in complex systems with local interactions.