From Tree to Web of Life 

For over a century, the Tree of Life has been one of the most powerful symbols of biology — the image of a single origin branching into the diversity of living forms. 

This classical view, inherited from Darwin, reflects the birth of modern biology and its search for order and hierarchy in nature. 

Yet, today, science tells a more intricate story. The living world did not arise from a single trunk but from multiple origins, linked through horizontal gene transfers, symbiosis, and shared molecular codes. 

Life evolved not as a tree, but as a network — a dynamic system of codified relationships connecting organisms, molecules, and meanings. This image represents the dialogue between the historical and the contemporary views of life:

• On the left, the traditional tree — symbol of lineage and descent;
• On the right, the modern web — symbol of interaction, code, and mediation.

Together, they express the spirit of Code Biology: a science of life where evolution is not only descent, but communication.