Before revision: We treat proteins as amorphous learning matter: A `gene' encodes bonds in an `amino acid ' network making a `protein' .
After revision: How DNA is mapped to functional proteins is a basic question of living matter. We introduce and study a physical model of protein evolution which suggests a mechanical basis for this map. Many proteins rely on large-scale motion to function. We therefore treat protein as learning amorphous matter that evolves towards such a mechanical function: Genes are binary sequences that encode the connectivity of the amino acid network that makes a protein .