{"schema":"pubphys.bundle/1","record":{"author":{"account_ref":null,"orcid":null},"builds_on":[],"content_schema":"pubphys.content.revision/1","content_sha256":"8e6aa484c0a02f809ca09a70ea9830a6f9ffa0a658406ae32416fb5ed085a29e","created":"2026-10-03T07:17:57Z","files":[],"origin":{"assisted_by":[],"kind":"seed"},"parents":["5475cf5dc5b1a72283d26dc95dc6e00d7ea4e00096a7c6492e409a1816eeb011","d2d536ffa9284b6d2d2e98b89fed01b07118433274c0382f778af59853186d9f"],"salt":"0fb3df433c7a5451be2ec4567e6b37863a1240c37cebb2ceb48383b830844336","schema":"pubphys.record/2","site":"pubphys.com","target":null,"type":"revision"},"content":{"answer_type":"mechanism","assisted_by":[],"external_id":"bio.origin-of-life.error-threshold-paradox","kind":"well-posed","literature_status":"partially-resolved","n":"1","parents":[{"note":"","parent_revision":"d2d536ffa9284b6d2d2e98b89fed01b07118433274c0382f778af59853186d9f","relation":"special_case"}],"plain":"Copying without enzymes is sloppy, so only short sequences survive copying errors, yet an accurate copying enzyme needs a sequence long enough to encode it. A 2026 RNA enzyme only 45 letters long narrowed this gap, and which mechanism kept genetic information intact over many generations is still open.","posed_since":"1971","precise":"With nonenzymatic copying fidelity $q \\sim 0.9\\ \\text{to}\\ 0.99$ per nucleotide, $L_{\\mathrm{max}} \\sim \\operatorname{ln}(\\sigma)/(1 - q)$ is tens to about a hundred nucleotides; polymerase ribozymes derived from the class I ligase are about 200 nucleotides long, while the 45-nucleotide QT45 ribozyme (Science 2026) copies at $q = 0.941$, giving $L_{\\mathrm{max}} \\sim 17 \\operatorname{ln}(\\sigma)$. Find a mechanism (compartments with group selection, hypercycles, template-directed ligation of short oligomers, spatial structure on surfaces) that maintains information content exceeding $L_{\\mathrm{max}}$ over many replication rounds, stable against parasitic sequences, for a replicase that copies itself from mononucleotides or mixed-length feedstocks, with parameters measured in prebiotic chemistry.","problem_ref":null,"references":"","settled_by":"A quantitative model with experimentally measured copying, ligation and compartment-division rates showing maintained information above $L_{\\mathrm{max}}$, ideally confirmed in an experiment.","status_note":"A 45-nucleotide polymerase ribozyme (2026) brought the replicator size close to the error threshold; maintenance against parasites over many rounds has not been demonstrated.","title":"Escape from Eigen's paradox for prebiotic genomes","topic_ref":"819c3cf4ef1ce5d66c72a382f1081518f28c7f8a56681c740fe7338f60746ab9"},"content_withheld":"false","files":[],"attested":{"attestation":{"batch":null,"client_id":null,"id_token_sha256":null,"kind":"platform"},"record_hash":"8aaed1dcd560a600129acd0dd86a97cd9c23220db52fd17487162a2763690a12","schema":"pubphys.attested/1"},"id_token":null,"id_token_withheld":"false","envelope":{"attested_hash":"e6e5df5f0bfa0bad23d6c4e3ed3982dbcd727c2913f09c5238355b0af15d6941","platform_signature":{"key_id":"c6afc19b31429869751f06879c75cd64ea92654423d15b44be775bf1310a60da","sig":"0jhoBspuutK7SZredk1Z1ilszXAUjcNo6bI_JvKOkIyqzs3v-cocUAQHtQG5qr2MwOr4xNK8u8JJHdYMujhYDA"},"schema":"pubphys.envelope/1"},"ots":{"attested":["AE9wZW5UaW1lc3RhbXBzAABQcm9vZgC_ieLohOiSlAEI5uXfXwv6C60j1sTj7TmC281yfCkT8JxSODVbCvFdaUHxIObNirHEDjzUzJL2-wP4cvQq_7bBiY9h2Rvir6_ketYKCPEg86qJiqX-JJb9yR8raJcgQgDN-3PBSszBdI7Sso-6ujEI8SDZGLBvxut74_Nrgswu3e_OD6me1UBR83OuUN6ATdLASgjxILgVAFLx8gXAXvOJObnDE8h_Ov3jX5nlwKqCtAlYCBpnCPEg0wFb7eMvfeSLzbXSAMCm0SJOI6UyZl7ku7Lc2eRb77kI8SB21m8GRTmJSZYi_Lrh-hqAsLoQJTYqpgwfMrugPU1y2gjxILxzQWMAmvaultZlg8E3OUpGfSrLm6L_gGXyaZDMO7ZVCPEgX1ct-J5utS2Y9i_MQF8whgQqggfdpWZjb4EXThxsbjcI8CCoahAZNQNYu2Y_acHP7f8i7DMCAPi7QeYPsDQmFOUZcgjxIOUdEg6sSGuGAwm6byKNwNSH-CaFtay_ppzVi8InqIsBCPEgUZCxxJx-baWw4JFRfzCCtSjPn4ATBx_3FQi1O2Yo4-8I8SAQuuTPkAGyvS_wKMy9BtKvnki2puESdY2vXem8hT1uIQjwIBGYo5Vxy-d7U5zKv5vp3Ii7hJPH_BDLCzA13c47p9q7CP_wCHbghVgOFMuNCPAQPZK2lHbTMqcCYUotzOQcmQjwIJ7ruRIs6HnufKxCpmLUgeUl0aUu0ov4_3PqcppS-bddCPEgI530vHzdwz_3o9jYQ3WablSaV64Wfn7Pmby5WLyI-A0I8QRqwKw78AhITF7Tr3a1xP8Ag9_jDS75DI4sK2h0dHBzOi8vYm9iLmJ0Yy5jYWxlbmRhci5vcGVudGltZXN0YW1wcy5vcmcI8CBXWeNiWFWltfHE0nkDXsVKIykUUwuObhsnN-2fvBt98gjwIM5Vf7j68sOFgVysYMc5S09Hho-fqxYW3oQ4oKUX7JpPCPAgaKHHQB3sdd9w1hu4NMh7vmb-p0X2r4uyVKKCj1G7S28I8SAW2Mg6Bzi9ygjrrjIYB7w90fwMcxH24SsqLmzPyAMGfwjwIMQ863zlveYIpNKWVrZaDOa4vowwoOg2CcTW8gXtxK3dCPEgrZxGGAf-t8jhz_eLMUyBN1IhNrdYDRcNHWvQcwNG9woI8CCVOUHG1YXudbaFIgUYvrCIevRWvb2ubhQAo-z0duD0rQjxIDBeKerVGkO3J2eXDwdraSioXbIWsdIPEN1s8pIwJIS2CPAgV2kB3n3JZ5HwBQjpRL1CWKnqvdCjZk3RcALk6N2wHigI8CB-wbljNlfqElD25uZkNg6taS81YDRU2vfMqGVQ420O9AjxWQEAAAABJM43UU6MLMRrPlCUqossvu1q_knons5yylyWTgxZzWUAAAAAAP7___8CLgABAAAAAAAWABQrYt3E7OllKRCEmL3FL589l78_5wAAAAAAAAAAImog8ATiyw4ACAjxILmbcIO7ixv3pCtwUMZ1VQGKus54F9lZ8-w5ECD5ZuiICAjwIG6ynCyFTLPE7Rgk-0ZGCtBDyqNQx8YvaSZNHy8D8p8jCAjwIMX8zoD2Be1YWvcx_bexVPRmBX0hK-do8b8t9SarimQVCAjxIG6XtpqIEclLlhzcK1LVjqoPGrjjmLnyno8tcETMzECECAjwIF6mlfXOFY51JhrK4eze8zQlKV75OYZYqbtyi8BWxmAsCAjwIKKUcJmVoz-u-geiRV_-ZHdF0VEPXaEPFWf_JX_0e7G2CAjxIGMeD0Z5QWNKBcAEpHht007FFIILW6aSJ8f3CMkKNsneCAjwIBFr6Je8rkB7kwhPGbq0yRgFwZsvW9JhY5sXDRtrq0QwCAjwIAHAwXaus-yUgKICJB5mVvx8VZuJgjwnpb0qWPg1pi6DCAjxIAJhb8cefkVHTAMymdsxa-_i-tUua62LcpALQnPG7R9_CAjwIDvsFqBhPfAL6TCtXZd7gBWmMpx6iiZ-Ug0Jf_LlcstgCAjwIDJRBX6Q0Vge-ra-k1_g76yJWTEp6WWF13I3JpTnsZPJCAjwILykZCbkC9VQgl5gytPKKir6T9nTvKR6y05iWSHBTQgzCAgABYiWDXPXGQED45c78Ah-sGbmQAwfZwjwEAYqxtHnZiPZnJEGPx_JvKsI8SDXkqDg17YsZIrEz5acRx7mBXCKW5mKNgRYnw_-U2cpDgjxBGrArDrwCEfK6Mono428_wCD3-MNLvkMji4taHR0cHM6Ly9hbGljZS5idGMuY2FsZW5kYXIub3BlbnRpbWVzdGFtcHMub3JnCPAg10nyJ6Jn4kshQQQCKE0Lvj3hBC6nLRBVIzaPV4eh8VwI8CCQaAqWlxEbac_XOq1MOlf9iOKHEsxXspzbjK0vLpy8BwjwII3iRbRXUcDxrhAdkZmFlI15nySCSEZ7g922tF1Xln5DCPEgYYvZ1L4v4rPu_UqLfcHPtwSb2OH2GhPgVcVhhH6DpkQI8CDZCIoR20sC-uchP40oAmcLm9EJFV7xzwplj54AeVadXQjxILvLBjPFpCoz29m9Yf2qRnV7PI9GqxE8ozVQfk9QwCqrCPEgZXcMudvEoB_MJ8tqOW2PLTKAIeQBnE-1bfzptRc2gR8I8VkBAAAAAfXq-bmxWqOz7B5wKkwjzHGv2R4s7Y0Z76LqXWYNhmz0AAAAAAD-____Av0cAAAAAAAAFgAUl-skmdZDtn7Hnub6mF4HP2uVn7oAAAAAAAAAACJqIPAE4MsOAAgI8CBDmQsbEXc46Hu8DivhCBM1LGExa4TTM-wo7HpoCVjBTQgI8CCty5vkQtPHzzs8xqArOYhVSjgaDoG1ou3cojv5_P7wQQgI8SDQWB0kdXCTwbk-TqTt0QfRMyzDNLOtU1XXFgvGSRlW8wgI8CC2PKa_QCIBZtrXodq1GdEzppISMsMRDOnzr2gFjLKOAAgI8CCwQ_QF67bcFk_uJ2s0VCZmf5PGIjTmTCpt_qnVY5p_8AgI8SAbzyx7z-oxPMju6PvtQhzrJIQyH2ZAc9oyLuYemzbmZQgI8CC5bh7J74uUk91r8LwybHQFCNBC3PWeuwtMCCNFKWj19AgI8SAf4R2TUNPjaX_PWDUImpoITK0JoW89zaMKnD1wlEEi8AgI8SC2vNmdm7eyP5Ytl1yTzT0njliMdALl1ViKG-s3bG2zswgI8CCpbIVNz1GFVXdJk2zd82hBUoNFFemUPBt7IJdWEOciPwgI8CBtYdRQcrtX1FtCm1SxF7sx-5cO04U8KzbJh8fqBkyReAgI8CBHs2LGmX6gI-lV7yp1RrV7_tGfdiBAwnEFF6B6yXHzAQgI8CATotVmbXBMAixhZ-QKy5Q4lR0FusdA_wcIC1TbB7GmxAgIAAWIlg1z1xkBA-KXOw"],"envelope":["AE9wZW5UaW1lc3RhbXBzAABQcm9vZgC_ieLohOiSlAEIPpMEERoY-cpttduFGTvWgGvv1p163iEXAo83EXM4pZrwID6oflcwMKe9IQ7NCoz3ceNeQqJ4pgyMZNqXMZv26gXjCPEgI_rUW6CBVaqtNV_rGzp-qxdC5UTdfEpQn2pGsPbhZY0I8SAb7nsZpmz5MJ5CSmNGQ7cm2FwZbn7utv12no7GkmqwIgjxIBpkTCv1fQ5cKMv1J_rZxo6--7bSc7gXJ0wysOd_wtr4CPAgetX5GjxCFjH-dmsqFNsFX13kjcE-6UE6Sez9MefhgQkI8CAqNwDNX-oileSvNQRYJQl4q68hLvTYsXoaBGYGd-Wd6gjwIE6KAygcVZPIUTkvRQL_cxDpqVObTFmOXRCZmyxKzTVeCPAgDwiS_6mbTnnYK_oMGqQLov2YRVYIj9Er1NWLuDHHhV8I8CDcBxRb7fDApTWNNvjZ_r2lDpQT60DYte3pStKjciGgOAjwIK9SXvHBwgJE5CknXtp2lOqKcbHlJ-ncP9sNjnTHUJsmCPEgytIBB3x7TFDT-XqOV-9vpqw1NKoAu0dhtsCbAMql2L0I8CCtNZgmApuKULvPC9nsMCaM05arV-F3o5FTlnJCnRvdMgjwIBGYo5Vxy-d7U5zKv5vp3Ii7hJPH_BDLCzA13c47p9q7CP_wCHbghVgOFMuNCPAQPZK2lHbTMqcCYUotzOQcmQjwIJ7ruRIs6HnufKxCpmLUgeUl0aUu0ov4_3PqcppS-bddCPEgI530vHzdwz_3o9jYQ3WablSaV64Wfn7Pmby5WLyI-A0I8QRqwKw78AhITF7Tr3a1xP8Ag9_jDS75DI4sK2h0dHBzOi8vYm9iLmJ0Yy5jYWxlbmRhci5vcGVudGltZXN0YW1wcy5vcmcI8CBXWeNiWFWltfHE0nkDXsVKIykUUwuObhsnN-2fvBt98gjwIM5Vf7j68sOFgVysYMc5S09Hho-fqxYW3oQ4oKUX7JpPCPAgaKHHQB3sdd9w1hu4NMh7vmb-p0X2r4uyVKKCj1G7S28I8SAW2Mg6Bzi9ygjrrjIYB7w90fwMcxH24SsqLmzPyAMGfwjwIMQ863zlveYIpNKWVrZaDOa4vowwoOg2CcTW8gXtxK3dCPEgrZxGGAf-t8jhz_eLMUyBN1IhNrdYDRcNHWvQcwNG9woI8CCVOUHG1YXudbaFIgUYvrCIevRWvb2ubhQAo-z0duD0rQjxIDBeKerVGkO3J2eXDwdraSioXbIWsdIPEN1s8pIwJIS2CPAgV2kB3n3JZ5HwBQjpRL1CWKnqvdCjZk3RcALk6N2wHigI8CB-wbljNlfqElD25uZkNg6taS81YDRU2vfMqGVQ420O9AjxWQEAAAABJM43UU6MLMRrPlCUqossvu1q_knons5yylyWTgxZzWUAAAAAAP7___8CLgABAAAAAAAWABQrYt3E7OllKRCEmL3FL589l78_5wAAAAAAAAAAImog8ATiyw4ACAjxILmbcIO7ixv3pCtwUMZ1VQGKus54F9lZ8-w5ECD5ZuiICAjwIG6ynCyFTLPE7Rgk-0ZGCtBDyqNQx8YvaSZNHy8D8p8jCAjwIMX8zoD2Be1YWvcx_bexVPRmBX0hK-do8b8t9SarimQVCAjxIG6XtpqIEclLlhzcK1LVjqoPGrjjmLnyno8tcETMzECECAjwIF6mlfXOFY51JhrK4eze8zQlKV75OYZYqbtyi8BWxmAsCAjwIKKUcJmVoz-u-geiRV_-ZHdF0VEPXaEPFWf_JX_0e7G2CAjxIGMeD0Z5QWNKBcAEpHht007FFIILW6aSJ8f3CMkKNsneCAjwIBFr6Je8rkB7kwhPGbq0yRgFwZsvW9JhY5sXDRtrq0QwCAjwIAHAwXaus-yUgKICJB5mVvx8VZuJgjwnpb0qWPg1pi6DCAjxIAJhb8cefkVHTAMymdsxa-_i-tUua62LcpALQnPG7R9_CAjwIDvsFqBhPfAL6TCtXZd7gBWmMpx6iiZ-Ug0Jf_LlcstgCAjwIDJRBX6Q0Vge-ra-k1_g76yJWTEp6WWF13I3JpTnsZPJCAjwILykZCbkC9VQgl5gytPKKir6T9nTvKR6y05iWSHBTQgzCAgABYiWDXPXGQED45c78Ah-sGbmQAwfZwjwEAYqxtHnZiPZnJEGPx_JvKsI8SDXkqDg17YsZIrEz5acRx7mBXCKW5mKNgRYnw_-U2cpDgjxBGrArDrwCEfK6Mono428_wCD3-MNLvkMji4taHR0cHM6Ly9hbGljZS5idGMuY2FsZW5kYXIub3BlbnRpbWVzdGFtcHMub3JnCPAg10nyJ6Jn4kshQQQCKE0Lvj3hBC6nLRBVIzaPV4eh8VwI8CCQaAqWlxEbac_XOq1MOlf9iOKHEsxXspzbjK0vLpy8BwjwII3iRbRXUcDxrhAdkZmFlI15nySCSEZ7g922tF1Xln5DCPEgYYvZ1L4v4rPu_UqLfcHPtwSb2OH2GhPgVcVhhH6DpkQI8CDZCIoR20sC-uchP40oAmcLm9EJFV7xzwplj54AeVadXQjxILvLBjPFpCoz29m9Yf2qRnV7PI9GqxE8ozVQfk9QwCqrCPEgZXcMudvEoB_MJ8tqOW2PLTKAIeQBnE-1bfzptRc2gR8I8VkBAAAAAfXq-bmxWqOz7B5wKkwjzHGv2R4s7Y0Z76LqXWYNhmz0AAAAAAD-____Av0cAAAAAAAAFgAUl-skmdZDtn7Hnub6mF4HP2uVn7oAAAAAAAAAACJqIPAE4MsOAAgI8CBDmQsbEXc46Hu8DivhCBM1LGExa4TTM-wo7HpoCVjBTQgI8CCty5vkQtPHzzs8xqArOYhVSjgaDoG1ou3cojv5_P7wQQgI8SDQWB0kdXCTwbk-TqTt0QfRMyzDNLOtU1XXFgvGSRlW8wgI8CC2PKa_QCIBZtrXodq1GdEzppISMsMRDOnzr2gFjLKOAAgI8CCwQ_QF67bcFk_uJ2s0VCZmf5PGIjTmTCpt_qnVY5p_8AgI8SAbzyx7z-oxPMju6PvtQhzrJIQyH2ZAc9oyLuYemzbmZQgI8CC5bh7J74uUk91r8LwybHQFCNBC3PWeuwtMCCNFKWj19AgI8SAf4R2TUNPjaX_PWDUImpoITK0JoW89zaMKnD1wlEEi8AgI8SC2vNmdm7eyP5Ytl1yTzT0njliMdALl1ViKG-s3bG2zswgI8CCpbIVNz1GFVXdJk2zd82hBUoNFFemUPBt7IJdWEOciPwgI8CBtYdRQcrtX1FtCm1SxF7sx-5cO04U8KzbJh8fqBkyReAgI8CBHs2LGmX6gI-lV7yp1RrV7_tGfdiBAwnEFF6B6yXHzAQgI8CATotVmbXBMAixhZ-QKy5Q4lR0FusdA_wcIC1TbB7GmxAgIAAWIlg1z1xkBA-KXOw"]},"log":{"leaf_index":"815","tree_size":"2123","proof":["6fb72f0bea010c91745e52b48294c6e1a8a98f2c040cf16d7f766c2af949e60f","22503ec848482885074f1631f646df6d950247dc6cb58f15cc0eea14f4abfdd8","5ef92c5fc5a6e3c8349e44a644e1fee0a21b3ebde005363e71593206a2a31fa9","9e7952791d76a2eeed2ad4d1eb83886c89de8fc00355112541b3177df3fa4237","f36bf8855b853db594666a84db1732a3949efb2bfb594ae399cd89a44721a86f","4e9bdaaa17433ab996e1f8b674e369503e635b2dc4b813e260fec9ab5d95614a","cae2ca62b8a87df1d126a3262fdbb966df9b6d5811ffe4eac45a41339a4f05e9","3da8ba69a14fe8a80e419cbc158ef45e4ebf9476aa4342fe43b8a2fe83bd6988","cba222c71b49d79b667b9eb145f4a2927b31dafcf0f9407638f19a25d0726210","14108339881e6713df1e6d34582069c609e80460dc60638e661361aa4403ff51","ec3fa24572dee1df200ec665f3e3244d925b199f0f84e225b820c3b66bd7b094","addcf2e0ff7974e4aa99af5e30d409f90d9f4311a4d85f5baf3e125eeb45b4c1"],"checkpoint":"pubphys.com/log/v1\n2123\npXVcluz7BF4vgChQs6lShuU0386gCH0RxrC1sxyE3rI=\n\n— pubphys.com/log/v1 JFPwIOLzsUD22XoTVyTfk/FMVj/u3f3DxZk4V/Ws10KVSS+8WQSwhunQ//EAhyS9Td5CyM0E++85GMezmKd8240j9Q8=\n","promise":null},"orcid_key_evidence":[],"attesting":null}