Archaea and Computational Simulations Refute the RNA World Hypothesis, Strongly Confirm the Matter World Hypothesis

The RNA World Hypothesis (RWH), which posits RNA as the sole primordial molecule driving life’s origin, faces significant challenges due to RNA’s chemical instability, limited catalytic capacity, and inability to form stable protocells. In contrast, the Matter World Hypothesis (MWH) proposes that life emerged from synergistic interactions among RNA, DNA, peptides, lipids, and mineral catalysts in prebiotic environments. This article integrates molecular dynamics (MD) and dissipative particle dynamics (DPD) simulations with biological evidence from Archaea—Earth’s most ancient lifeforms—to refute RWH and validate MWH. Simulations show RNA-only systems degrade rapidly (25–35% RMSD in 100 ns), exhibit poor catalysis (kcat ~0.003–0.006 min⁻¹), and form unstable vesicles (lipid order ~0.45, lifetime ~10–15 hr). MWH systems achieve high stability (<10% RMSD), robust catalysis (kcat ~0.058–0.068 min⁻¹), and stable vesicles (lipid order ~0.65, lifetime ~40–50 hr). Archaeal biology, including DNA-based replication and peptide-driven metabolism, supports MWH’s synergistic framework. These findings necessitate a paradigm shift in origins-of-life research, with implications for astrobiology and synthetic biology.