Resonance Theory of Evolution: A New Optics for Evolutionary Biology

The Resonance Theory of Evolution (RTE) presented in this work is not confined to a fundamental revision of evolutionary biology. Its central hypothesis — the existence of a Carbon Shadow Tier (CST), a world of pre-cellular carbon systems possessing distributed memory and metabolic resilience in extreme environments — carries far-reaching practical implications. The authors demonstrate that deciphering the «engineering principles» of CST opens a pathway toward purposeful genetic modification of human cells for protection against cosmic radiation, the principal barrier to deep-space travel. The principles of distributed heredity, metabolic radioprotection, and canalized mutagenesis, inherited from the most ancient carbon systems, can be translated into concrete protocols of genetic engineering. Thus, a hypothesis about the origin of life 4 billion years ago unexpectedly becomes a theoretical foundation for securing a future for humanity beyond Earth.