title: Marginally stable chemical systems as precursors of life.
abstract: Current research on the origin of life aims at finding the simplest entity that can undergo spontaneous Darwinian evolution toward increasing replication efficiency. Here I consider some of the models of self-replicating molecular systems, and I show that they exhibit a distinct feature, namely, an infinity of stationary states forming a continuous curve; i.e., they are only marginally stable. I show that, in marginally stable chemical systems, thermodynamic fluctuations induce a drift directed toward increasing replication efficiency. This drift represents a form of evolution, taking place slowly, cooperatively, in macroscopic volumes of water.
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Medicina Sperimentale, Università degli Studi di Milano-Bicocca Via Cadore 48, Monza (MI) 20052, Italy. dbrogioli@gmail.com
authors.forename: Doriano
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Brogioli
mesh_terms: D005075:Biological Evolution; D008954:Models, Biological; D012313:RNA / Q000235:genetics*; D012324:RNA-Dependent RNA Polymerase / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D013816:Thermodynamics; D014867:Water / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D014867:Water; D012313:RNA; D012324:RNA-Dependent RNA Polymerase