ИСТИНА

More than 80 years ago Hungarian-Russian biologist Erwin Bauer formulated fundamental principles of Theoretical biology aimed to differentiate between animate and inanimate systems. The major principle defining the living state of matter is the Principle of Stable Non-equilibrium, “All and only living systems are never at equilibrium. At the expense of their free energy they ceaselessly perform work against equilibrium, demanded by the physical and chemical laws appropriate to the actual external conditions”. Stable non-equilibrium state of matter, is displayed at all the levels of living systems’ organization, including the most deep – supra-molecular one. Non-equilibrium state of living matter is provided by its ability to extract low-density energy from food or environmental radiation and to transform it into high-density energy rich excited state of matter. All forms of work including assimilation of food are performed by a living system at the expense of this energy characteristic of living matter. To retard spontaneous relaxation of excited state of workable structural elements of living matter they should be interdependent, so that living matter may be considered a multilevel coherent system. Sustainability of the living state of matter in time and space is provided by its intrinsic ability for the continuous buildup of free energy stock it possesses expressed in the phenomenon of development (evolution). From these few fundamental principles all the vital functions: metabolism and assimilation, multiplication, adaptability, excitability and even directed evolution may be derived. However, Bauer’s theory of a living state does not clarify how it could primordially emerge. Besides no conclusive answer is given to the question of what particular substance or material system could stably reside in a non-equilibrium state and return back to it when it releases energy of excitation for the performance of useful work providing for the continuity of “living matter”. We pay attention to the fact that the dominant substance in all the organisms is water. Recently discovered unique properties of water allow considering natural aqueous systems as systems that fully meet all the requirements of the attributes of the living state as defined by Bauer. According to the theory of G. Preparata and E. Del Giudice water represents a heterogeneous dynamically structured non-equilibrium system – the source of free energy. G.H. Pollack experimentally confirmed this characteristic property of aqueous systems. He discovered that water solvating hydrophilic surfaces (named Exclusion Zone (EZ) water by G.H.P) – the major form of water in living cells and tissues, is physically and chemically different from “bulk” water. It resides in an excited state and is capable to perform mechanical, chemical, and electric work. In particular EZ-water may play the role of a peculiar fuel donating electrons to oxygen, always present in water. After “burning” and converting into high entropy “bulk” water EZ-water recovers because water may transform ubiquitous low density energy of IR radiation into high density energy of excited and coherent state characteristic of it. If CO2 and N2 are present in water residind in stable non-equilibium state some part of its free energy may be used for their excitation, and complex organic molecules and supra-molecular structures may originate. New surfaces turning water into EZ-water appear and the overall stock of structural energy of such aqueous system increases. Hence Life in all the forms that we know, meeting the requirements of the principles defining living state formulated by Erwin Bauer spontaneously originate, sustain and develop due to the unique properties of the most widespread substance in the Universe – Water.