There's more about at Barricelli at [1], and in a chapter in Turing's Cathedral [2], George Dyson's excellent book about John von Neumann and the making and uses of the IAS machine [3] at the Institute for Advanced Study.
[1] https://nautil.us/the-computer-maverick-who-modeled-the-evol...
[2] https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/44425/turings-cathe...
Philosophical aside #1 from TFA reminds me of these lyrics: “It’s the ocean flowing in our veins and it’s the salt that’s in our tears.”