Beyond Randomness: Self-Replication as the Engine of Life’s Origin
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The emergence of self-replicating systems from inorganic molecules marks a pivotal tran?sition in life’s origin. This study explores self-replication as the engine driving this leap, tran?scending the passive randomness of molecular collisions. Modeling a 20-nucleotide RNA, we calculate 2.64×1060 collisions (95% CI: ±5%) over 600 million years on early Earth, yielding 2.4 × 1048 to 2.4 × 1049 potential self-replicating RNAs. Of these, 1.34 × 1041 to 3.84 × 1046 survive in hydrothermal vents, amplifying to 3 × 1034 within 2.4 days. With a replication fidelity of 99.9%, rare errors (0.1%) introduce variability, laying the groundwork for evo?lution. Rooted in natural laws and aligned with the RNA World hypothesis, this offers a quantifiable mechanism for life’s inception.
