The Origin of Life: Function First Paradigm

Abstract Traditional origin of life models often struggle to explain how molecular structures could have maintained stability under the intense and sustained energy fluxes of the Hadean Earth. Here, we introduce the Function First paradigm, which reframes prebiotic chemistry not as a sequence of rare or stochastic events but as a statistical consequence of energetic non equilibrium systems. We propose the concept of Entropy Buffered Molecules, defined not by specific chemical identity but by their ability to absorb and dissipate environmental energy while preserving structural integrity. This approach unifies competing frameworks such as RNA world, lipid world and metabolism first hypotheses under a common thermodynamic filter governed by principles of dynamic kinetic stability. We discuss how energy compatible molecular assemblies could have emerged, persisted and accumulated in early planetary environments, and how signatures of these processes remain observable in modern biological systems, from molecular chaperones to the ribosomal core. This perspective provides a coherent conceptual framework that bridges prebiotic chemistry, molecular evolution and biophysics and offers concrete, testable predictions to guide future research.