VTN-10. Temporal Biology: Living Systems as Active Structures of Temporal Architecture

This paper presents an English version of a study previously published in a Russian academic journal. The work examines the role of temporal asymmetry in biological systems from the perspective of a structural theory of time. Irreversibility is interpreted not as a consequence of thermodynamic, statistical, or biological processes, but as a fundamental property of temporal architecture, expressed through the structural inclusion of earlier temporal configurations into later ones (Tₐfter ⊃ Tbefore). In this sense, the direction of time is primary with respect to any dynamical or functional manifestations. Biological systems are analyzed as active structures operating within an already irreversible temporal organization. Life does not generate irreversibility; rather, it utilizes and locally stabilizes the existing temporal asymmetry by maintaining stable regimes of exchange, memory, and reproduction. Special attention is given to the distinction between fundamental structural origins of irreversibility and derived descriptive quantities such as time density ρ (t, x), which characterize but do not explain temporal directionality. It is shown that key biological phenomena, including metabolism, homeostasis, genetic and cognitive memory, can be interpreted as forms of interaction with pre-existing temporal asymmetry rather than as its source. This approach provides a unified structural language for describing living systems within the broader framework of temporal organization.