TrueWriterScore Gates (v3.2)

The certification framework applies five pre-registered gates from config/gates_v3.yaml (SHA-256 locked at pre-registration).

Gate 1 — DSB Avoidance (Necessary)

  • Type: Necessary — failing auto-classifies as NOT_WRITER regardless of other gates

  • Threshold: S_DSB ≥ 0.95

  • Rationale: Editors that make double-strand breaks (SpCas9, Cas12a) are categorically excluded from the Molecular Pen hypothesis

Gate 2 — Programmability (Qualifying)

  • Type: Qualifying

  • Threshold: S_Prog ≥ 0.95

  • Rationale: RNA-programmable targeting is required; site-specific recombinases (Bxb1, phiC31) with fixed att sites fail this gate

Gate 3 — Native Cargo Capability (Qualifying)

  • Type: Qualifying

  • Threshold: S_Cargo ≥ 0.85 AND intrinsic_cargo_mechanism = True

  • Rationale: Both a high cargo score AND a mechanistic flag for intrinsic (non-template) cargo delivery are required

Gate 4 — Deliverability (Qualifying)

  • Type: Qualifying

  • Threshold: length_aa ≤ 900 OR split_aav_eligible = True

  • Rationale: AAV size limit; editors > 900 aa can still qualify if split-AAV packaging has been demonstrated

Gate 5 — Experimental Evidence (Qualifying)

  • Type: Qualifying

  • Threshold: ≥ 2 of {biochemical, structural, computational, cell_based}

  • Rationale: Minimum multi-source evidence required for qualifying status

Tier Ladder

G1 FAIL  →  NOT_WRITER (auto-demote, final)

G1 PASS  +  4 qualifying  +  cell_based  →  TRUE_WRITER
G1 PASS  +  4 qualifying  +  no cell_based  →  PROBABLE_WRITER
G1 PASS  +  3 qualifying  +  cell_based  →  PROBABLE_WRITER
G1 PASS  +  1–2 qualifying  →  EMERGING_WRITER
G1 PASS  +  0 qualifying  →  NOT_WRITER