A Physical Model for Regulation-First in the Proto-Liver Origin of Life (PLOL) Framework

The Proto-Liver Origin of Life (PLOL) hypothesis argues that regulation was the first functional step toward life. This companion paper develops a mechanistic model describing how a primitive regulator could naturally arise in prebiotic environments through sunlight-driven redox asymmetry, mineral microcavities, and wet–dry cycling. These structures form energy-buffering microreactors capable of stabilizing electron flow and selecting molecules that improve regulatory control. This regulator-first model provides a physically grounded precursor to metabolism, compartmentalization, and replication, and establishes continuity between geological redox systems and modern hepatic function.