An Unobserved Informational Reservoir: A Hypothesis for the Stability and Functional Directionality of Living Systems

1. Introduction–The Dual Paradox

Statistical analyses of abiogenesis yield probabilities as low as 1:10⁷⁸–1:10¹⁰⁰ for minimal self-replicating systems under prebiotic conditions (Joyce & Orgel, 1993; Walker, 2017). Simultaneously, living systems maintain macroscopic order for billions of years in warm, noisy, wet environments where classical thermodynamics predicts rapid degradation. Current models—whether gradual Darwinian evolution, self-organisation far from equilibrium (Prigogine), or extended evolutionary synthesis—fail to fully resolve this tension.

Recent observations strengthen the paradox:

Quantum coherence persists in biological contexts (photosynthesis, avian magnetoreception, enzymatic tunneling) far longer than expected (Engel et al., 2007; Lambert et al., 2013; Cao et al., 2020; Ball, 2011).

Large language models and autonomous artificial agents undergo rapid entropic decay of performance in prolonged self-directed operation, revealing the absence of an intrinsic stabilising layer present in biology (Power et al., 2023; Shental et al., 2024).

2. Core Hypothesis: The Informational Reservoir

We hypothesize the existence of an unobserved informational reservoir (IR) that continuously supplies low-amplitude, high-specificity informational bias into sufficiently complex open systems. In living systems this bias manifests as:

(a) enhanced probability of functional microstates (protein folding, DNA repair, synaptic strengthening),

(b) canalization of evolutionary trajectories toward stable, creative outcomes (Waddington, 1942),

(c) long-term resistance to thermodynamic degradation.

The reservoir is “dark” (cf. dark matter/energy): it is not directly detectable by present instruments but reveals itself through systematic deviations from purely statistical expectations in biological systems. The hypothesis does not require modifications of quantum mechanics; it represents a minimal-intervention extension of current models, assuming only that biological systems may be unusually sensitive to fluctuations already permitted within the standard formalism.

3. Possible Physical Origins (Ordered by Current Plausibility)

The following possibilities are not proposed as physical claims but as conceptual illustrations of how an informational reservoir could be embedded within existing or speculative frameworks.

Quantum-biological mechanisms (most evidence-based, scenario is mentioned only as a conceptual analogy).

• Long-lived coherence and entanglement (Romero et al., 2014)
• Quantum-level attractor-like structures influencing effective microstate selection (Straňák, 2025)
• Quantum tunneling and non-local correlations enabling “shortcuts” across fitness barriers (Lambert et al., 2013)

Many-worlds/many-minds leakage

Information from adjacent branches of the wavefunction may preferentially couple to systems capable of decoherence-resistant computation.

Higher spatial dimensions

Gravity is anomalously weak possibly because it propagates into extra dimensions (Arkani-Hamed et al., 1998). Other informational degrees of freedom might similarly “leak” from the bulk into our 3+1 brane.

Simulation boundary effects

If our universe is a rendered simulation, compression artifacts or boundary effects could manifest as non-local informational bias.

The hypothesis remains valid regardless of which (if any) of these origins ultimately proves correct.

4. Crucial Clarification: Unintended Crosstalk, Not Design

The informational transfer need not be engineered or teleological. It can be an entirely passive, unintended “leak” across an ontological interface - exactly like sound from a neighbor’s television penetrating a thin wall. The presence of structured information in the receiving room does not imply that anyone deliberately broadcast it; it merely requires insufficient insulation between domains. This sharply separates the hypothesis from intelligent-design interpretations. The hypothesis is not intended as a replacement for evolutionary theory or quantum biology, but as an epistemic supplement that highlights a structural gap in current models.

5. Conceptual Sketch

Symbolically, let P₀(ω) denotes the standard quantum-mechanical (Born-rule) probability of microstate ω. The effective biological probability can be postulated as:

P_biol(ω)=P₀(ω)+δ_IR

(1)

where δ_IR≪1 represents a weak, unintended coupling from a hidden reservoir. According to this hypothesis, the probability in biological systems may consist of two components: a classical one, fully governed by the Born rule, and an additional hypothetical term, as shown in Equation 1. Figure 1 illustrates a possible relationship between these components.

6. Relation to Existing Theories

Existing frameworks address parts of the paradox but leave key gaps. Extended Evolutionary Synthesis explains phenotypic plasticity and developmental constraints, yet does not account for the origin of functional directionality. Self-organization describes pattern formation but not long-term stability in noisy environments. Quantum biology documents coherence-based anomalies without explaining their selective persistence. Active inference interprets organisms as inference-performing systems but remains agnostic about the origin of their priors. Walker highlights information as a causal agent, yet does not specify a mechanism for real-time informational bias. The present hypothesis is compatible with this approach while addressing the missing source of functional specificity.

7. Falsifiable Predictions

• Biological systems will exhibit statistically significant deviations from Born-rule expectations in ultrafast spectroscopy of folding/repair processes, scaling with system complexity C, understood here as a function of particle number, interaction topology, and structural heterogeneity.
• Fully autonomous artificial systems lacking biological-grade quantum coherence will continue to show irreversible performance decay on timescales ≪ 10⁶ self-updates (Power et al., 2023; Shental et al., 2024). The observed degradation of autonomous AI systems is not in itself clear evidence for an informational reservoir, but it illustrates the contrast between purely computational architectures and biological systems that maintain long-term functional stability.
• Active decoherence of long-lived quantum coherence (e.g., induced by targeted magnetic noise) in living cells will accelerate entropic degradation beyond classical expectations (Cao et al., 2020).
• No such reservoir effects will be detectable in purely inorganic complex systems.

7.1. Signal-to-Noise Regime for Detection

The hypothesized δ_IR term is expected to be maximally detectable in biological systems operating close to thermodynamic equilibrium with minimal internal energy fluxes (e.g., dormant states, minimal cells, low-temperature in vitro assays). In such “quiet” regimes, classical stochastic noise is suppressed, making even weak unintended leakage statistically detectable. Conversely, far-from-equilibrium chaotic regimes (high metabolic throughput, turbulent environments, or high-energy particle collisions) are predicted to mask δ_IR through overwhelming intrinsic noise—analogous to an inability to hear a neighbor’s television during a hurricane.

7.2. Clarification on Inorganic Systems

Engineered devices (transistors, classical computers, most artificial complex systems) transfer many quanta per logical operation and employ redundancy thresholds far above single-quantum fluctuations, effectively shielding themselves from weak external biases of magnitude δ_IR≪1. Living systems appear to lack this engineered robustness and instead exploit the subtle bias toward functional microstates.

8. Conclusions

The extreme improbability of life’s origin combined with its observed stability and creative directionality suggests the action of an unobserved informational reservoir. The hypothesis is naturalistic, compatible with current physics, explicitly non-teleological, and generates clear experimental tests. Future work should focus on high-precision quantum sensing in vivo and long-term autonomous AI trials.

The proposal should be understood as an epistemic bridge rather than a metaphysical claim: it highlights a structural mismatch between current physical models and biological phenomena without committing to any particular ontological interpretation.

The hypothesis is fully compatible with Darwinian evolution and the Extended Evolutionary Synthesis; it concerns the origin and maintenance of functional information, not the mechanisms of selection itself.