A rigorous, quantitatively grounded attempt to cross the threshold from chemistry to life — starting from molecules, under conditions that existed on early Earth and exist today on ocean worlds orbiting Jupiter and Saturn.
Life exists. We know that. What we do not know — and have never demonstrated — is how chemistry becomes life. How does a collection of molecules, given the right conditions, cross the threshold from interesting chemistry to something that replicates itself, varies, and evolves?
Every previous attempt has either started with existing biology, or has stopped well short of the threshold. The gap between chemistry that produces amino acids and chemistry that produces a self-replicating, evolving system is the most important gap in all of science. This project is designed to cross it.
"The proposal does not ignore the hard problems. It quantifies them. That alone separates it from most origin-of-life speculation."
— Human biochemist reviewer
Six computational simulations — published on bioRxiv — converge on a minimal description of what is necessary and sufficient for heritable replication to emerge from random chemistry:
The geochemical environment must deliver at least 1.5× replication advantage to functional sequences. In physical terms: ΔpH > 1.2 across a mineral membrane, or Fe-S catalytic rate enhancement > 1.5×. Both are achievable under hydrothermal vent conditions.
Encapsulation cannot discover function from scratch. A functional sequence must arise by non-enzymatic chemistry before encapsulation — a rare stochastic event, but one requiring only that 3% of encapsulation events capture a functional sequence.
Once functional sequences exist, lipid encapsulation drives population takeover via two coupled selection mechanisms: vesicle-level selection and sequence-level template copying. Above the 3% threshold, takeover is 100% reliable.
Each requirement is independently measurable in a physical reactor. None requires extraordinary chemistry. Each is a threshold, not a wall.
A six-step computational simulation framework mapping the parameter space of the chemistry-to-life transition. Published on bioRxiv, March 2026.
Six sequential simulations — error threshold characterization, autocatalytic coupling sweep, ensemble statistics, spatial dynamics, protocell encapsulation, and heredity emergence — each producing quantitative predictions for the physical reactor experiment.
Key results: sharp phase transition confirmed (bimodality coefficient β > 0.555); minimum coupling 1.5×; P(survival) = 62% at RNA error floor; cliff transition at 3% seed fraction with 100% reliable heredity emergence above threshold.
Read the preprint on bioRxiv →The project is organized as seven sequential stages with pre-defined success criteria and explicit go/no-go gates. Stages I–III are the scope of the initial NASA ROSES-25 C.5 Exobiology proposal — three years, $1.35–2.1M.
Build and validate a microfluidic geochemical reactor: 200–500 mV redox gradient, alkaline pH differential, thermal cycling 20–80°C, FeS/FeS₂ mineral surfaces. NASA Phase 1.
Test TNA and RNA replication fidelity under reactor conditions. Measure whether error rate crosses 10⁻³. NASA Phase 1.
Encapsulate replicating polymers in lipid vesicles. Demonstrate selection acting on encapsulated sequences over 50+ generations. NASA Phase 1.
Introduce minimal translation scaffold. Evolve genetic code from scratch within the system.
Transition from externally supplied energy to internally coupled PPi-based energy chemistry.
Allow system to evolve toward minimal genome (189–473 gene range) under controlled reactor dependence.
Remove constraints and observe. Document first open-ended evolution of a created living system.
This proposal has been evaluated by five AI systems, a human biochemist, and a simulated NASA Exobiology panel. Each critique was incorporated into successive versions.
The scientific framework, experimental design, and NASA grant proposal are complete. The project seeks a collaborative PI with biochemistry laboratory access and institutional affiliation to bring the physical experiment into existence.