Biological Recycling Theory: A Cyclic Network Framework for Evolutionary Innovation and Recovery

Sameh Mesallum^*

• Medicine, Department of Urology, School of Medicine, Tufts University, Boston, United States

Life's ability to innovate and diversify often outpaces what classical Darwinian microevolution alone can explain. Here I present the Biological Recycling Theory (BRT), a cyclic, network-based framework in which genetic material is passed vertically and recycled across temporal and taxonomic boundaries. BRT integrates three empirically grounded pillars: (1) balancing selection that preserves allelic diversity across long timescales; (2) cryptic genetic variation revealed under environmental shifts; and (3) genetic recycling via horizontal gene transfer (HGT) and environmental DNA (eDNA) reservoirs. Using an agent-based simulation, BRT produces faster post-extinction recovery and greater combinatorial innovation than mutation-and-selection baselines. Under moderate extinction (50% loss), BRT recovered ~90% of pre-event diversity in roughly one-third fewer generations than classical models and generated ~3,600 novel trait combinations per run (vs. ~2,800 cryptic-only, ~700 HGT-only, near-zero mutation-only). Empirical observations—trans-species polymorphisms, persistence of ancient DNA in sediments/permafrost, and documented gene exchange/introgression—are consistent with this framework. BRT treats evolution as a cyclic network process that complements microevolutionary mechanisms while helping to explain macroevolutionary patterns such as rapid recoveries and parallel radiations.