Article 3. Memory Theory: The Physics of Carbon Molecules

According to the Non-Information Theory of Life (NJT), living systems are described as supramolecular ensembles capable of maintaining their identity in the flow of matter and energy. In Article 2, we showed how ordered water in S-, γ, and δ-tetraphases creates tetrasignatures—local energy reliefs that guide the polymerization of monomers. However, tetrasgnatures are ephemeral: they exist only in the ordered tetraphases of water and disappear when they are relaxed. In order for a stable identity of a supramolecular ensemble to emerge, it is necessary that the temporal record created by water be transferred to a more stable medium. Carbon polymers are such a carrier. This article describes the mechanism of this transfer — carbomorphosis, the process of changing and fixing the three-dimensional conformation of a carbon molecule after the removal of the signal that caused it, due to the emergence of new weak non-covalent bonds that create an energy barrier to the reverse transition. The result of carbomorphosis is carbosignature, which is a stable conformational state that persists without a constant influx of energy and determines the subsequent reactions of the system. Carbosignatures are the basis for replication, catalysis, molecular recognition, and ultimately for the evolution of supramolecular ensembles. For the first time, quantitative estimates of the energy of fixation of carbosignatures through weak bonds (20–100 kJ/mol) and the corresponding life times (from hours to thousands of years) are presented. A comparison of energy barriers with thermal fluctuations is carried out. A strict definition of carbosignature is given, distinguishing it from simple biological regulation. This mechanism works at all levels of organization: from a single protein molecule to neural networks, immune memory, epigenetic regulation, metabolic adaptation, and mechanotransduction. The work completes the trilogy of physical mechanisms of memory within the NTJ, showing how the stable identity of supramolecular ensembles is fixed at the molecular level.