Circumiacentium hypothesis - a potential supplement to cell theory

ABSTRACT Cell theory provides one of the foundational concepts for cell biologists. Despite approximately 4 billion years of cellular evolution, the theory—now about 350 years old—rests on only three postulates. Irrespective of the molecular complexity inside cells, any cell exists only under particular physiological conditions that are enforced upon it by its environment. This raises the question of whether the cell theory is incomplete in its current form. The gasocrine hypothesis, proposed as a potential supplement to cell theory, is limited in its consideration of environmental factors. Moreover, Goldilocks principle-based hypothesis risks effects of unknown factors. I propose the Circumiacentium hypothesis: all cells are limited by their environment, and I discuss potential challenges for falsification experiments. Given extensive experimental evidence from diverse model organisms and the fragility of biotic life under environmental constraints, the Circumiacentium hypothesis offers a potential additional postulate for cell theory amid a rapidly changing environment. DRAFT For reasons that remain unclear, despite roughly 4 billion years of cellular evolution, cell theory has only three well-accepted postulates1. I previously proposed the gasocrine hypothesis, which states that all cells require gasocrine signaling2. However, this can be expanded into a broader postulate that extends beyond the signaling aspects of gases to other environmental factors as well. I propose the Circumiacentium Hypothesis that "all cells are limited by their environment". One simple falsification experiment would be to find a cell in an extreme temperature (e.g., approx. 5000℃ as on the Sun). Thus, the Circumiacentium Hypothesis is another potential supplement to the cell theory. REFERENCES 1. Hyllner J, Mason C, Wilmut I. Cells: from Robert Hooke to cell therapy—a 350 year journey. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2015; 370:20150320. 2. Anbalagan S. Gasocrine hypothesis - a potential supplement to cell theory. Acta Biochim Pol 2025; 72:15465.