Integrating Abiotic Deoxyribose Formation into the Matter World Hypothesis: A Stochastic Framework for Proto-Metabolic Emergence

The transition from prebiotic chemistry to biological systems requires explaining both specific chemical transformations and emergent network properties. This study integrates the abiotic formation of deoxyribose—DNA's defining sugar—within the broader theoretical framework of the Matter World Hypothesis (MWH). We present an extended Kinetic Monte Carlo/Gillespie algorithm that models the UV- and clay-mediated conversion of ribose to deoxyribose alongside emergent proto-metabolic network formation. Our stochastic simulations demonstrate how differential molecular stability drives Chemical Darwinism, with deoxyribose accumulating preferentially (up to 45% yield under optimal conditions, Senv = 50) due to its 3-fold lower degradation rate compared to ribose. The model reveals emergent properties including energy coupling efficiency (η = 0.15 ± 0.03), phase-locking to environmental cycles, and network-level cooperation. While the computational framework establishes mechanistic plausibility, critical parameters—particularly the UV-induced conversion rate (kUV)—require experimental validation. This work bridges specific chemical pathways with systems-level selection principles, advancing the MWH from a theoretical framework toward an experimentally testable model of life's emergence.