  Molecular codes translate information written in one type of molecules into
another molecular language. We introduce a simple model that treats molecular
codes as noisy information channels. An optimal code is a channel that conveys
information accurately and efficiently while keeping down the impact of errors.
The equipoise of the three conflicting needs, for minimal error-load, minimal
cost of resources and maximal diversity of vocabulary, defines the fitness of
the code. The model suggests a mechanism for the emergence of a code when
evolution varies the parameters that control this equipoise and the mapping
between the two molecular languages becomes non-random. This mechanism is
demonstrated by a simple toy model that is formally equivalent to a mean-field
Ising magnet.
