The meek might inherit the Earth, but they will be sandwiched between ranks of the selfish, according to a new computer model of evolution. In Koella's artificial universe, altruistic organisms cooperate with their neighbours.
Egoists exploit everything they come across.
With a twist on previous models, Koella allowed his electronic charges to reproduce and evolve in certain ways. They ended up arrayed in alternating stripes of altruists and egoists. Self-sacrifice for others without personal benefits may be a religious ideal. But in evolutionary terms, the spread of altruism is a paradox, points out David Sloane Wilson of State University of New York, Binghamton, who has designed similar models. And with a few extra rules, that's just what Koella did.