Hypercycle (chemistry)
Cyclic sequence of self-reproducing single cycles / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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In chemistry, a hypercycle is an abstract model of organization of self-replicating molecules connected in a cyclic, autocatalytic manner. It was introduced in an ordinary differential equation (ODE) form by the Nobel Prize in Chemistry winner Manfred Eigen in 1971[1] and subsequently further extended in collaboration with Peter Schuster.[2][3] It was proposed as a solution to the error threshold problem encountered during modelling of replicative molecules that hypothetically existed on the primordial Earth (see: abiogenesis). As such, it explained how life on Earth could have begun using only relatively short genetic sequences, which in theory were too short to store all essential information.[3] The hypercycle is a special case of the replicator equation.[4] The most important properties of hypercycles are autocatalytic growth competition between cycles, once-for-ever selective behaviour, utilization of small selective advantage, rapid evolvability, increased information capacity, and selection against parasitic branches.[1]