How Chaos Gives Birth to Life: The Secret Switch express

Original: "Causal Architecture Dynamics Prior to Arrival of Self-replicators in a Model of Catalytic Networks Relevant to Origin-of-Life"

· Federico Pigozzi, Michael Levin

arXiv:2607.28250v1 · 2026-07-30 · CC BY 4.0 · 1 min

q-bio.PE

Scientists have discovered: when the internal organization of a molecular mixture grows gradually, it predicts the emergence of self-reproduction and provides a key to controlling it.

A jazz ensemble: at first, a cacophony of random notes. Then — a catchy riff that plays over and over. Such is the riddle of the origin of life — only in the language of chemistry. In a computer model of random molecular interactions called GARD, scientists recreated the primordial 'soup', where simple compounds float around, sometimes helping each other assemble into larger chains.

They measured not just order. They measured causal influence — the ability of the mixture to determine its own future.

An invisible switch flipped. When the 'causal strength' crosses the threshold, molecules capable of copying themselves spontaneously emerge in the mixture. Moreover, by artificially strengthening or weakening it, you can extend or shorten the lives of such replicators. collective behavior of molecules acts as a volume knob: turn it up, the riff plays louder and clearer; turn it down, it fades. Such a conductor's console works in any active 'soup'—even before evolution takes up its score.

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Even in a completely chaotic mixture, the emergence of life can be predicted, just measure its 'causal potential'.

Scientists

Andrey Markov

Concepts

origin of life granger causality founder effect causality Baldwin effect abiogenesis prebiotic chemistry stimulus disorder induced phenomena structure growth biology evolution planck time generative model drug design agent epidemic model drug resistance emergent collective learning outbreak

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How Chaos Gives Birth to Life: The Secret Switch express