The Second Chance: Dissipative Structures and Thermodynamic Reversibility in Prebiotic Vesicles

This article explores the fundamental thermodynamic differences between early life forms and modern cellular structures. Using Ilya Prigogine’s theory of non-equilibrium systems, we examine prebiotic fatty acid vesicles as simple dissipative structures. We propose the concept of the "Second Chance": a state where the lack of complex genetic information allowed for structural reversibility. When environmental stress leads to the dissociation of a vesicle, the constituent matter remains untainted, allowing for spontaneous re-assembly when conditions stabilize. This "memoryless" existence provided a unique form of resilience where the survival of matter preceded the survival of information.