Why are some animals warm-blooded and others cold-blooded? A physical answer through the Non-Informational Theory of Life

ABSTRACT This paper proposes a hypothesis that the phase topology of water (transitions between the dense HDL and loose LDL phases) is a physical factor determining the temperature limits of cellular activity and evolutionary adaptations of thermoregulation. It is substantiated that the temperature range of 36–39°C corresponds to an energetically low-barrier transition between phases, ensuring optimal dynamics of cytomorphic and nucleomorphic water. As the temperature decreases, water transitions to a glassy state, requiring adaptation of proteins, membranes, and ionic composition. It is shown that the chirality of LDL water and tetrasignatures (conformational distortions of the hydrogen network) are the physical basis for structural memory, subsequently encoded in RNA and DNA. Electrotaxis, which depends on the phase state of water, is also subject to these temperature constraints: its efficiency is maximal in the range of 36–39°C. Experimental tests of this hypothesis are proposed. The work is positioned as a development of the Non-Informational Theory of Life (NITL), adding an evolutionary dimension to the supramolecular physics of the cell.