Rethinking life and predicting its origin

Area of Science:

• * Biophysics
• * Astrobiology
• * Evolutionary Biology

Background:

• * The fundamental definition, origin, and recreation of life remain significant scientific challenges.
• * A reductionist, physical approach is proposed as a path to resolving these questions.
• * Existing theories lack a comprehensive physical framework for life's emergence and characteristics.

Purpose of the Study:

• * To propose a novel physical theory defining life based on dissipative mechanisms.
• * To deduce a testable origin scenario for extant biological life.
• * To provide a framework for understanding life's replication, ecological evolution, and guiding the search for life.

Main Methods:

• * Theoretical modeling of life as a product of two dissipative mechanisms.
• * Characterization of one mechanism as representative of extant biological life.
• * Deduction of a testable hypothesis for the origin of life based on the proposed mechanisms.

Main Results:

• * A new theoretical framework defining life through two dissipative processes.
• * Identification of a specific mechanism characterizing current biological life.
• * A testable scenario for the origin of life derived from the theoretical model.
• * The theory supports the possibility of replicating life and offers new interpretations of ecological evolution.

Conclusions:

• * Life can be understood as a physical phenomenon driven by dissipative mechanisms.
• * The proposed theory provides a testable framework for the origin of life.
• * This work offers new perspectives on ecological evolution and refines the search for extraterrestrial life.