Year: 2026
Type: preprint
Abstract: What drove nucleic acids (NA) to associate with proteins (PR) at the Origins of Life? We reason from polymer physics and the Central Dogma (CD) that the fitness value of cooperating through a division of labor - NA for replication fidelity and PR for functional fitness - is much higher than for either polymer alone. Our model shows a Pareto Front, where NA and PR can bootstrap each other to achieve autocatalytic cooperativity towards biology.
Authors: Mohamed Swailem, Ken A. Dill
Institution: Stony Brook University
Language: English
Subfield: Astronomy and Astrophysics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7168093577