From Dirt to Life: Layered Biofilm Growth and the Electrochemical Genesis of Cellular Identity

This paper presents a new hypothesis for the origin of life based on mineral surface biofilms rather than discrete protocells. It proposes that the earliest lifeforms were layered, lipid-based films adhering to submerged rock surfaces, expanding in area by incorporating organic molecules from seawater. Fragmentation and reattachment enabled replication. Modern cells retain this legacy: they contain rock-derived ions internally, interact with a seawater-like exterior, and maintain membrane potential via lipid bilayers. The paper explores how electrostatic ejection and thermal feedback amplified phosphorylated organics, initiating the first metabolic feedback loop. This theory reframes life as a surface-driven, electrochemically mediated phenomenon rooted in the asymmetry between rocks and the ocean. Author Tetsuo Konno (今野哲夫)