aksiomes

Aksiomes are a speculative concept in theoretical biology that envisions a class of modular, self-organizing protocellular systems. In thought experiments and some science-fiction contexts, aksiomes consist of a network of interlinked lipid vesicles that can carry out basic metabolism, exchange small molecules, and coordinate behavior across compartments. The term is used to explore how life-like properties might emerge from distributed chemistry without a single, centralized genome.

Structure and metabolism: Aksiomes are envisioned as a cluster of semi-autonomous vesicles connected by selective channels. Each compartment hosts catalysts and substrates; together they sustain a shared metabolic network that can adapt to resource availability. Genetic-like information may be distributed among vesicles as short nucleic acid–like templates or informational cargo, enabling a form of distributed heredity.

Reproduction and dynamics: The system can grow by vesicle fusion or fragmentation, spreading resources and templates to daughter networks. Selection would favor configurations with more efficient metabolite exchange and resource use. Environmental perturbations can trigger reorganization of the network, preserving robust core steps while allowing peripheral modules to adapt.

Status and impact: Aksiomes remain theoretical and are not established as living organisms. They are used in discussions of origin-of-life scenarios, minimal cell models, and distributed synthetic biology to illustrate how membrane-bound compartments and information flow might co-evolve. They prompt questions about the criteria for life, compartmentalization, and collective behavior in early biospheres.