Memory about the past is beneficial for survival and reproduction (reply to comment (Usp. Fiz. Nauk 182 1235 (2012) [Phys. Usp. 55 1152 (2012)]) by V I Klyatskin on “21st century: what is life from the perspective of physics” (Usp. Fiz. Nauk 180 337 (2010) [Phys. Usp. 53 327 (2010)]) by G R Ivanitskii)

The fact that the first living structures were learning in the process of evolution resulted in no evolutionary step being completely random. This learning was impossible without ‘memory’ about the past: survival-enhancing situations should be remembered to accumulate experience for survival and reproduction in the future.