ASEF Podcast (ENG): Assembly Theory and the Emergence of Complexity with Lee Cronin [Episode #54]
In this episode of the ASEF Podcast, host Tanja Janko speaks with Lee Cronin, Professor of Chemistry at the University of Glasgow, creator of the Chemputer, and one of the leading developers of Assembly Theory. Cronin is internationally recognized for his work on molecular complexity, programmable chemistry, and the origins of life, where he explores how chemical systems may organize, evolve, and accumulate information over time.
The conversation focuses on the emergence of complexity in chemistry and biology through the perspective of Assembly Theory — a framework that attempts to measure how objects are built through sequences of assembly processes. Cronin explains how molecules may carry a form of “memory” of the pathways that produced them and why complexity might be understood not only through biological definitions, but also through the historical accumulation of chemical structure.
A central part of the discussion examines the distinction between patterns and codes in biology, and whether life itself could represent a transition from self-organizing chemical patterns toward systems capable of storing and transmitting information. The episode also explores homochirality and the possibility that molecular asymmetry may reflect early forms of historical selection in chemistry.
In the second part of the episode, the conversation turns toward programmable chemistry and the development of the Chemputer — a platform designed to automate and standardize chemical synthesis in a programmable way. Cronin discusses how such systems could transform experimental chemistry and accelerate scientific discovery.
The episode additionally explores polyoxometalates and primitive cell-like behavior in inorganic chemical systems, raising broader questions about how life-like properties may emerge even outside traditional biological frameworks. The discussion concludes with reflections on astrobiology and the search for life beyond Earth, including whether highly complex molecules detected on other planets could already represent evidence of living processes.