  This paper presents new results from a detailed study of the structure of
autocatalytic sets. We show how autocatalytic sets can be decomposed into
smaller autocatalytic subsets, and how these subsets can be identified and
classified. We then argue how this has important consequences for the
evolvability, enablement, and emergence of autocatalytic sets. We end with some
speculation on how all this might lead to a generalized theory of autocatalytic
sets, which could possibly be applied to entire ecologies or even economies.

Molecular Networks