Emergence of metabolic-like cycles in blockchain-orchestrated reaction networks

Abstract

This theoretical work harnesses the power of an open-access, blockchain-based platform for distributed computing to generate the largest-known network of prebiotic reactions and then to trace within this network (1) synthetic routes to biotic molecules and (2) reaction cycles and their unions that could have defined some elements of primitive, non-enzymatic metabolism. The calculation of this network, spanning >4.9 billion plausible prebiotic reactions and >3.7 billion molecules, was orchestrated automatically over hundreds of machines worldwide, each machine bidding its dynamically adjustable computing power in return for Golem cryptocurrency tokens, which underlie this platform and are traded at major cryptocurrency exchanges. In a broader context, this work illustrates how (1) blockchain-based technology can find new productive uses outside of the financial/security sector, whereas (2) scientists can benefit from this technology by gaining access to computing resources they would normally not have at their disposal.