 Algorithms are of course the basis for computational simulations. Perhaps inspired by these structural similarities, Lenski’s group and other collaborators turned their attention to an agent-based simulation model called Avida (Lenski et al. 2003). In this computational model, self-replicating “digital organisms” compete for resources in the form of computer memory, and can accumulate mutations over time in their “genomes” (strings of computer code). Lenski and colleagues are very clear that when they study Avida, just as when they study their E. coli in the flasks, the aim is to infer something about the evolving world at large: “When we study this tractable system, we aim to shed light on principles relevant to any evolving system” (2003: 139). Because Avida allows for open-ended exploration of evolutionary trajectories via an algorithmic procedure, this way of modelling evolution turns out to be highly complementary to studying bacteria in the laboratory.