Magnetically-Guided Auroral Ice–RNA Hypothesis for the Emergence of Cellular Life

This project investigates how ice-covered polar environments subjected to auroral radiation may have enabled the persistence, evolution, and cellularization of RNA on the early Earth. Building on magnetically guided auroral energy input, the project focuses on the chemical and physical roles of ice, including molecular concentration during freezing, suppression of RNA hydrolysis at low temperatures, confinement of radiation-generated radicals, and regulation through freeze–thaw cycles. Within this framework, RNA is proposed as the first informational polymer capable of surviving and evolving under radiation-rich conditions due to its chemical accessibility, functional flexibility, and tolerance to structural imperfections. The project further explores how spontaneous fatty-acid vesicles could encapsulate RNA populations, leading to protocells that resist dilution and support cooperative reaction networks. By linking auroral energy, ice physics, RNA world chemistry, and compartment formation, this project offers a pathway from localized prebiotic chemistry to the emergence of the first cellular systems.