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This paper explores how the phase topology of water influences cellular memory and the formation of RNA/DNA.

July 4, 2026Open Access

The Origin of Memory and the Genetic Apparatus: The Cell Nucleus, Rna/Dna, as a Consequence of the Phase Topology of Water

Key Points

This paper explores how the phase topology of water influences cellular memory and the formation of RNA/DNA.
Introduced the idea of cytomorphic and nucleomorphic water based on phase transitions.
Discussed the role of tetrasignatures in maintaining memory within water's structure.
Interpreted NMR relaxometry data as indirect support for the proposed hypothesis.
Proposed that nucleomorphic water in the nucleus stabilizes hereditary macromolecules.
Suggested that tetrasignatures could persist over long timescales due to energy-dependent processes.
Emphasized the potential of water's phase topology in understanding the origin of life.

Abstract

GLOSSARY Phase topology of water is the dynamic structural organization of cytomorphic and nucleomorphic water, including a tetrahedral network of hydrogen bonds, phase states, and local conformational distortions—tetrasignatures. It determines the structural memory and self-organization of the cell.A tetrasignature is a conformational distortion of the tetrahedral lattice of water that preserves the shape of a molecule or signal after its disappearance; a unit of structural memory. KEYWORDS Non-informational theory of life (NITL), nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), supramolecular physics, phase topology of water, cytomorphic water, nucleomorphic water, liquid phase separation, biomolecular condensates, cellular memory, origin of life, nonequilibrium thermodynamics, phase transitions of water, tetrasignature, chirality of water, electrotaxis. ANNOTATION This paper proposes a conceptual hypothesis that the two-phase behavior of water (the transition between dense HDL and loose LDL) is a fundamental physical mechanism underlying cellular memory and the origin of the genetic apparatus (RNA/DNA). We introduce the concept of water's phase topology—the dynamic structural organization of water as cytomorphic (LDL) and nucleomorphic forms. We propose that outside the cell, water functions as a passive solvent (HDL), while inside the cell, it transitions to a cytomorphic LDL phase—an active participant in the assembly of supramolecular assemblies. In the nucleus, water acquires the state of nucleomorphic water with maximum order, serving as a physical matrix for the stabilization of hereditary macromolecules. We discuss how short-lived tetrasignatures (conformational distortions of the water network) can be maintained over macroscopic timescales through energy-dependent condensate cycles. NMR relaxometry data are interpreted as indirect indications, but not definitive proof. Specific experimental tests of the hypothesis are proposed. The work is positioned as a conceptual basis for further physical and biological research.

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