John F. Padgett
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691148670
- eISBN:
- 9781400845552
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691148670.003.0002
- Subject:
- Sociology, Economic Sociology
This chapter provides an extensive review of the biochemistry literature on the origins of life where the concept of autocatalysis figures most prominently. There is a lively debate in the scientific ...
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This chapter provides an extensive review of the biochemistry literature on the origins of life where the concept of autocatalysis figures most prominently. There is a lively debate in the scientific literature between scientists who subscribe to an RNA-first hypothesis and scientists who subscribe to a metabolism-first hypothesis about the origin of life. Both are different versions of autocatalysis, and a sensible conclusion could be that biological life really took off when a symbiosis developed between the two. After that, the chapter reviews past formal modeling in this area, which is spotty but highly suggestive. The chapter identifies Eigen's and Schuster's model of hypercycles as the path-breaking work that first placed empirical chemistry and formal models into fruitful dialogue with each other. Finally, the chapter reviews a less successful, more philosophical descendant of autocatalysis called autopoiesis, which is the guise under which autocatalysis first was presented to social scientists.Less
This chapter provides an extensive review of the biochemistry literature on the origins of life where the concept of autocatalysis figures most prominently. There is a lively debate in the scientific literature between scientists who subscribe to an RNA-first hypothesis and scientists who subscribe to a metabolism-first hypothesis about the origin of life. Both are different versions of autocatalysis, and a sensible conclusion could be that biological life really took off when a symbiosis developed between the two. After that, the chapter reviews past formal modeling in this area, which is spotty but highly suggestive. The chapter identifies Eigen's and Schuster's model of hypercycles as the path-breaking work that first placed empirical chemistry and formal models into fruitful dialogue with each other. Finally, the chapter reviews a less successful, more philosophical descendant of autocatalysis called autopoiesis, which is the guise under which autocatalysis first was presented to social scientists.
Paul F. Lurquin and Linda Stone
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780195315387
- eISBN:
- 9780199785674
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195315387.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society
Intelligent Design (ID) thinking and older style creationism argue that evolution by natural selection is an incorrect theory. This book demonstrates that in doing so, neocreationism (Intelligent ...
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Intelligent Design (ID) thinking and older style creationism argue that evolution by natural selection is an incorrect theory. This book demonstrates that in doing so, neocreationism (Intelligent Design) and classical creationism misinterpret the meaning of scientific theories. This is because these religious doctrines imply teleology and purpose in the natural world, which are not analyzable scientifically. In addition, the concept of “irreducible complexity” often invoked by ID proponents is based on a flawed interpretation of scientific data. It also demonstrates that evolutionary thinking in the sciences is a powerful tool that can be used in the study of the origin of the universe, the origin of life and its diversification, and human evolution. Creationism and ID do not belong in the realm of science and have contributed nothing to its advancement. Further, attempts to force the teaching of creationism and ID in schools can only weaken a science curriculum which already leaves much to be desired.Less
Intelligent Design (ID) thinking and older style creationism argue that evolution by natural selection is an incorrect theory. This book demonstrates that in doing so, neocreationism (Intelligent Design) and classical creationism misinterpret the meaning of scientific theories. This is because these religious doctrines imply teleology and purpose in the natural world, which are not analyzable scientifically. In addition, the concept of “irreducible complexity” often invoked by ID proponents is based on a flawed interpretation of scientific data. It also demonstrates that evolutionary thinking in the sciences is a powerful tool that can be used in the study of the origin of the universe, the origin of life and its diversification, and human evolution. Creationism and ID do not belong in the realm of science and have contributed nothing to its advancement. Further, attempts to force the teaching of creationism and ID in schools can only weaken a science curriculum which already leaves much to be desired.
Tibor Ganti
Eors Szathmary and James Griesemer (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- April 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780198507260
- eISBN:
- 9780191584886
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198507260.001.0001
- Subject:
- Biology, Evolutionary Biology / Genetics
What is life? What are the essential differences between the living and non-living systems? The exact scientific answers to these ancient questions are indispensable preconditions for the ...
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What is life? What are the essential differences between the living and non-living systems? The exact scientific answers to these ancient questions are indispensable preconditions for the understanding of the origins of life, for the artificial synthesis of living systems, but also for some important social problems, such as the beginning and the end of the human life. Based on the author's theory of fluid (chemical) automata, this book proves that all living systems are basically program-controlled, self-reproducing fluid automata, and that such automata behave as living systems. The simplest such construction — the chemoton — behaves as living, and all living systems have chemoton-type organization. This means that the chemoton model is the minimum model of life. The technical details have been published elsewhere: in this volume the logical train of thought is presented in a clear and easily understandable manner. The first part gives a general view of the idea; the second shows its application to the biogenesis; and the third gives the background of the theory in the natural philosophy of sciences. The author's chemical perspective captures the fundamentally cyclic organization of the living state, offers a fresh approach to the ancient problem of life criteria, and articulates a philosophy of the units of life applicable to genetics, chemistry, evolutionary biology, and exact theoretical biology. New notes throughout the text bring this legacy into dialogue with current thought in biology and philosophy.Less
What is life? What are the essential differences between the living and non-living systems? The exact scientific answers to these ancient questions are indispensable preconditions for the understanding of the origins of life, for the artificial synthesis of living systems, but also for some important social problems, such as the beginning and the end of the human life. Based on the author's theory of fluid (chemical) automata, this book proves that all living systems are basically program-controlled, self-reproducing fluid automata, and that such automata behave as living systems. The simplest such construction — the chemoton — behaves as living, and all living systems have chemoton-type organization. This means that the chemoton model is the minimum model of life. The technical details have been published elsewhere: in this volume the logical train of thought is presented in a clear and easily understandable manner. The first part gives a general view of the idea; the second shows its application to the biogenesis; and the third gives the background of the theory in the natural philosophy of sciences. The author's chemical perspective captures the fundamentally cyclic organization of the living state, offers a fresh approach to the ancient problem of life criteria, and articulates a philosophy of the units of life applicable to genetics, chemistry, evolutionary biology, and exact theoretical biology. New notes throughout the text bring this legacy into dialogue with current thought in biology and philosophy.
T. Gánti
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- April 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780198507260
- eISBN:
- 9780191584886
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198507260.003.0003
- Subject:
- Biology, Evolutionary Biology / Genetics
This chapter develops the chemoton theory. Central to this is an account of ‘life criteria’, which serves to articulate the basic philosophy of units of life that encompasses everything philosophers ...
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This chapter develops the chemoton theory. Central to this is an account of ‘life criteria’, which serves to articulate the basic philosophy of units of life that encompasses everything philosophers have discussed under the restricted heading of ‘units of selection’. The theory of these units is applied to considerations of conventional ways of organizing discussion of life principles, such as genetics, chemical synthesis, and the requirements of ‘exact theoretical biology’.Less
This chapter develops the chemoton theory. Central to this is an account of ‘life criteria’, which serves to articulate the basic philosophy of units of life that encompasses everything philosophers have discussed under the restricted heading of ‘units of selection’. The theory of these units is applied to considerations of conventional ways of organizing discussion of life principles, such as genetics, chemical synthesis, and the requirements of ‘exact theoretical biology’.
J.William Schopf (ed.)
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780520233904
- eISBN:
- 9780520928701
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520233904.001.0001
- Subject:
- Biology, Evolutionary Biology / Genetics
Always a controversial and compelling topic, the origin of life on Earth was considered taboo as an area of inquiry for science as recently as the 1950s. Since then, however, scientists working in ...
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Always a controversial and compelling topic, the origin of life on Earth was considered taboo as an area of inquiry for science as recently as the 1950s. Since then, however, scientists working in this area have made remarkable progress, and an overall picture of how life emerged is coming more clearly into focus. We now know, for example, that the story of life's origin begins not on Earth, but in the interiors of distant stars. This book brings a summary of current research and ideas on life's origin to a wide audience. The contributors, all of whom received the Oparin/Urey Gold Medal of the International Society for the Study of the Origin of Life, discuss their life's work: understanding the what, when, and how of the early evolution of life on Earth.Less
Always a controversial and compelling topic, the origin of life on Earth was considered taboo as an area of inquiry for science as recently as the 1950s. Since then, however, scientists working in this area have made remarkable progress, and an overall picture of how life emerged is coming more clearly into focus. We now know, for example, that the story of life's origin begins not on Earth, but in the interiors of distant stars. This book brings a summary of current research and ideas on life's origin to a wide audience. The contributors, all of whom received the Oparin/Urey Gold Medal of the International Society for the Study of the Origin of Life, discuss their life's work: understanding the what, when, and how of the early evolution of life on Earth.
T. Gánti
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- April 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780198507260
- eISBN:
- 9780191584886
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198507260.003.0002
- Subject:
- Biology, Evolutionary Biology / Genetics
This chapter is a revised version of the second part (‘Solutions’ of Gánti's book Contra Crick, or The Essence of Life. Responding to Crick's ‘panspermia’ hypothesis of his book Life Itself: Its ...
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This chapter is a revised version of the second part (‘Solutions’ of Gánti's book Contra Crick, or The Essence of Life. Responding to Crick's ‘panspermia’ hypothesis of his book Life Itself: Its Origin and Nature, which attributes the chemical origin of life on Earth to inoculations of organic molecules from space, the chapter offers a set of reflections of the problems to be solved in both signs of life research, and more broadly in the search for principles governing the living state.Less
This chapter is a revised version of the second part (‘Solutions’ of Gánti's book Contra Crick, or The Essence of Life. Responding to Crick's ‘panspermia’ hypothesis of his book Life Itself: Its Origin and Nature, which attributes the chemical origin of life on Earth to inoculations of organic molecules from space, the chapter offers a set of reflections of the problems to be solved in both signs of life research, and more broadly in the search for principles governing the living state.
James R. Griesemer
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- April 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780198507260
- eISBN:
- 9780191584886
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198507260.003.0005
- Subject:
- Biology, Evolutionary Biology / Genetics
This chapter explores the philosophical significance of Gánti's work. The chemoton's functioning as a model depends in the life criteria to give it engineering ‘blueprint sense’ and the life criteria ...
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This chapter explores the philosophical significance of Gánti's work. The chemoton's functioning as a model depends in the life criteria to give it engineering ‘blueprint sense’ and the life criteria must be completed by the chemoton and cycle stoichiometry. This integrative approach to criteria and models represents a philosophically sophisticated position. It is in harmony with philosophical interest over the last 30 years in the role of models in the actual practice of science. The ideas presented in Gánti's work introduce us to the coherent and integrated picture of what he calls ‘exact theoretical biology’, a picture of the very science that many philosophers of evolution seek.Less
This chapter explores the philosophical significance of Gánti's work. The chemoton's functioning as a model depends in the life criteria to give it engineering ‘blueprint sense’ and the life criteria must be completed by the chemoton and cycle stoichiometry. This integrative approach to criteria and models represents a philosophically sophisticated position. It is in harmony with philosophical interest over the last 30 years in the role of models in the actual practice of science. The ideas presented in Gánti's work introduce us to the coherent and integrated picture of what he calls ‘exact theoretical biology’, a picture of the very science that many philosophers of evolution seek.
Luis A. Campos
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- September 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780226238272
- eISBN:
- 9780226238302
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226238302.003.0002
- Subject:
- History, History of Science, Technology, and Medicine
This chapter examines the early and most extreme apotheosis of these connections between radium and life in claims emanating from the Cavendish Laboratory at Cambridge to have produced life from ...
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This chapter examines the early and most extreme apotheosis of these connections between radium and life in claims emanating from the Cavendish Laboratory at Cambridge to have produced life from radium. Among the first experimental work on the origins of life on the primordial earth, J. Butler Burke’s controversial work proved to be a key reworking of the history of spontaneous generation. In a series of sensational experiments, Burke produced cellular forms that were, if not quite living, at least life-like. Half-radium and half-microbe, these “radiobes” proved both immensely popular and immensely controversial, and served as a founding moment in the history of experimental research into the origin of life that has to date been routinely overlooked. Burke’s work explicitly linked for the first time the discourses of cosmic and organic evolution with concrete experiment, and with an element that appeared to bridge both realms. Revealed at the height of the radium craze, Burke’s findings also demonstrated the rapid sedimentation of the vitalistic metaphors surrounding radium. Not only reminiscent of life, radium itself, quite literally, vitalized matter.Less
This chapter examines the early and most extreme apotheosis of these connections between radium and life in claims emanating from the Cavendish Laboratory at Cambridge to have produced life from radium. Among the first experimental work on the origins of life on the primordial earth, J. Butler Burke’s controversial work proved to be a key reworking of the history of spontaneous generation. In a series of sensational experiments, Burke produced cellular forms that were, if not quite living, at least life-like. Half-radium and half-microbe, these “radiobes” proved both immensely popular and immensely controversial, and served as a founding moment in the history of experimental research into the origin of life that has to date been routinely overlooked. Burke’s work explicitly linked for the first time the discourses of cosmic and organic evolution with concrete experiment, and with an element that appeared to bridge both realms. Revealed at the height of the radium craze, Burke’s findings also demonstrated the rapid sedimentation of the vitalistic metaphors surrounding radium. Not only reminiscent of life, radium itself, quite literally, vitalized matter.
Vinod K. Wadhawan
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- January 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780199229178
- eISBN:
- 9780191711282
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199229178.003.0005
- Subject:
- Physics, Condensed Matter Physics / Materials
This chapter is about the self-assembly and self-organization of soft matter, and explains how systems can evolve from elementary particles to thinking organisms. Such evolution, like everything ...
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This chapter is about the self-assembly and self-organization of soft matter, and explains how systems can evolve from elementary particles to thinking organisms. Such evolution, like everything else, is governed by the minimization of the global free energy. Its course is determined by the information content of the shapes of the interacting units, and the nature and strength of their mutual interactions. Basics of supramolecular chemistry and molecular-recognition phenomena are introduced. This is followed by a description of the various types of self-assembly: capillary-interaction-controlled; fluidic; templated; and constrained. Self-organization is taken up next, which has been defined by Lehn as the ‘spontaneous but information-directed generation of organized functional structures in equilibrium conditions’. The various types of ‘coding’ responsible for self-organization are described. There is also a section on the widely pervasive phenomenon of self-organized criticality, first identified and investigated by Bak. Other topics discussed are: chemical adaptation and evolution, systems at the edge of order and chaos, and the origin of life.Less
This chapter is about the self-assembly and self-organization of soft matter, and explains how systems can evolve from elementary particles to thinking organisms. Such evolution, like everything else, is governed by the minimization of the global free energy. Its course is determined by the information content of the shapes of the interacting units, and the nature and strength of their mutual interactions. Basics of supramolecular chemistry and molecular-recognition phenomena are introduced. This is followed by a description of the various types of self-assembly: capillary-interaction-controlled; fluidic; templated; and constrained. Self-organization is taken up next, which has been defined by Lehn as the ‘spontaneous but information-directed generation of organized functional structures in equilibrium conditions’. The various types of ‘coding’ responsible for self-organization are described. There is also a section on the widely pervasive phenomenon of self-organized criticality, first identified and investigated by Bak. Other topics discussed are: chemical adaptation and evolution, systems at the edge of order and chaos, and the origin of life.
Franklin M. Harold
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- May 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780226174143
- eISBN:
- 9780226174310
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226174310.001.0001
- Subject:
- Biology, Biochemistry / Molecular Biology
The discovery of how the machinery of life works, and how it is constructed, is one of the glories of 20th century science. By contrast, we know little of the origin and evolution of cells and their ...
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The discovery of how the machinery of life works, and how it is constructed, is one of the glories of 20th century science. By contrast, we know little of the origin and evolution of cells and their parts, and what we have learned is in dispute. This book surveys ongoing efforts to make cell evolution intelligible. The text revolves around a small set of fundamental questions: 1. How many kinds of cellular designs does our world hold, and how are they related? 2. Is the traditional metaphor of a tree of life still useful, or has it been superseded? 3. What are viruses, and how are they related to cells? 4 Can one construct a timeline for the origin and early history of life? 5. Do all living things share a common ancestor, and what was its nature? 6. Why are eukaryotic organisms so much more complex than prokaryotic ones, and how did they arise? 7. Has functional, adaptive organization increased over time, and if so, why? 8. Is there a way to generate functional organization that does not depend on heredity, and selection? 9. How did life emerge from the lifeless world of chemistry and physics? 10. Can a generalized theory of evolution explain the origin of life? 11. Is the history of life a succession of contingent events, or does it have direction and meaning?Less
The discovery of how the machinery of life works, and how it is constructed, is one of the glories of 20th century science. By contrast, we know little of the origin and evolution of cells and their parts, and what we have learned is in dispute. This book surveys ongoing efforts to make cell evolution intelligible. The text revolves around a small set of fundamental questions: 1. How many kinds of cellular designs does our world hold, and how are they related? 2. Is the traditional metaphor of a tree of life still useful, or has it been superseded? 3. What are viruses, and how are they related to cells? 4 Can one construct a timeline for the origin and early history of life? 5. Do all living things share a common ancestor, and what was its nature? 6. Why are eukaryotic organisms so much more complex than prokaryotic ones, and how did they arise? 7. Has functional, adaptive organization increased over time, and if so, why? 8. Is there a way to generate functional organization that does not depend on heredity, and selection? 9. How did life emerge from the lifeless world of chemistry and physics? 10. Can a generalized theory of evolution explain the origin of life? 11. Is the history of life a succession of contingent events, or does it have direction and meaning?
Eörs Szathmáry
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- April 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780198507260
- eISBN:
- 9780191584886
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198507260.003.0004
- Subject:
- Biology, Evolutionary Biology / Genetics
This chapter explores the biological significance of Gánti's work. It argues that the chemoton satisfies the life criteria. Gánti offers the simplest possible solution to metabolism/homeostasis, and ...
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This chapter explores the biological significance of Gánti's work. It argues that the chemoton satisfies the life criteria. Gánti offers the simplest possible solution to metabolism/homeostasis, and control/program in terms of a chemical cycle and a replicating template molecule. The coupling between these two in the basic model is stoichiometric. But the length of the template molecule also has a dynamic effect on the ‘cell cycle’ of the chemoton. The most primitive way of carrying information by chemical means for the system as a whole is identified with the length of a template molecule rather than its composition, let alone its sequence.Less
This chapter explores the biological significance of Gánti's work. It argues that the chemoton satisfies the life criteria. Gánti offers the simplest possible solution to metabolism/homeostasis, and control/program in terms of a chemical cycle and a replicating template molecule. The coupling between these two in the basic model is stoichiometric. But the length of the template molecule also has a dynamic effect on the ‘cell cycle’ of the chemoton. The most primitive way of carrying information by chemical means for the system as a whole is identified with the length of a template molecule rather than its composition, let alone its sequence.
John Dupré
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199284214
- eISBN:
- 9780191700286
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199284214.003.0004
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Philosophy of Science
This chapter argues that Charles Darwin's theory of evolution is a naturalistic world-view that helped erode religious belief against the claims of science. Philosophical issues are avoided in order ...
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This chapter argues that Charles Darwin's theory of evolution is a naturalistic world-view that helped erode religious belief against the claims of science. Philosophical issues are avoided in order to give way to naturalistic views on how evolution came into place, as there are issues on things that can be argued to exist such as ghosts, soul, and deities. The compatibility of Darwinism and Christianity is published in a book by biologist Stephen Jay Gould and philosopher Michael Ruse and the correlation is explained in this chapter. If there was a being capable of creating life then his intervention could indeed be the best explanation because it is hard to explain the origin of life in terms of chemical processes.Less
This chapter argues that Charles Darwin's theory of evolution is a naturalistic world-view that helped erode religious belief against the claims of science. Philosophical issues are avoided in order to give way to naturalistic views on how evolution came into place, as there are issues on things that can be argued to exist such as ghosts, soul, and deities. The compatibility of Darwinism and Christianity is published in a book by biologist Stephen Jay Gould and philosopher Michael Ruse and the correlation is explained in this chapter. If there was a being capable of creating life then his intervention could indeed be the best explanation because it is hard to explain the origin of life in terms of chemical processes.
Alexandre Meinesz
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- February 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780226519319
- eISBN:
- 9780226519333
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226519333.003.0003
- Subject:
- Biology, Evolutionary Biology / Genetics
The mystery of the origin of life on Earth has spawned many hypotheses. As does the study of our first ancestors, this subject also has a mystical and philosophical aura. It entails the origin of the ...
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The mystery of the origin of life on Earth has spawned many hypotheses. As does the study of our first ancestors, this subject also has a mystical and philosophical aura. It entails the origin of the first cells, the initiation of life perpetuated by reproduction, the essence of life of all the species comprising the fauna and flora. It is surely the most exciting subject in biology; it holds surprises that can change our conception of life and orient our vision of our future. This chapter discusses the genesis of the first bacteria.Less
The mystery of the origin of life on Earth has spawned many hypotheses. As does the study of our first ancestors, this subject also has a mystical and philosophical aura. It entails the origin of the first cells, the initiation of life perpetuated by reproduction, the essence of life of all the species comprising the fauna and flora. It is surely the most exciting subject in biology; it holds surprises that can change our conception of life and orient our vision of our future. This chapter discusses the genesis of the first bacteria.
Franklin M. Harold
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- May 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780226174143
- eISBN:
- 9780226174310
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226174310.003.0010
- Subject:
- Biology, Biochemistry / Molecular Biology
In all of biology, there is no more consequential problem than the origin of life; yet despite the expenditure of much effort and ink over the past seventy years a satisfactory answer continues to ...
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In all of biology, there is no more consequential problem than the origin of life; yet despite the expenditure of much effort and ink over the past seventy years a satisfactory answer continues to elude us. This chapter surveys the huge body of experimental and theoretical work on this problem. Topics include the primordial broth of abiotic chemicals, prebiotic synthesis of metabolites, the quest for a self-replicating ribozyme, the critical importance of energy coupling, self-organized metabolic cycles, why membranes are essential, and the importance of natural selection from the outset. The recent idea, that life arose in the interstices of mineral deposits at the margins of warm alkaline hydrothermal vents, receives special attention. Between the first proto-cells and the Last Universal Common Ancestor, all the machinery of life must have been invented. We consider the place of the RNA World, and the horrendous difficulty of envisaging the origin of translation. In the end, the origin of life remains a mystery that passes understanding.Less
In all of biology, there is no more consequential problem than the origin of life; yet despite the expenditure of much effort and ink over the past seventy years a satisfactory answer continues to elude us. This chapter surveys the huge body of experimental and theoretical work on this problem. Topics include the primordial broth of abiotic chemicals, prebiotic synthesis of metabolites, the quest for a self-replicating ribozyme, the critical importance of energy coupling, self-organized metabolic cycles, why membranes are essential, and the importance of natural selection from the outset. The recent idea, that life arose in the interstices of mineral deposits at the margins of warm alkaline hydrothermal vents, receives special attention. Between the first proto-cells and the Last Universal Common Ancestor, all the machinery of life must have been invented. We consider the place of the RNA World, and the horrendous difficulty of envisaging the origin of translation. In the end, the origin of life remains a mystery that passes understanding.
Wolfgang Banzhaf and Lidia Yamamoto
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- September 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780262029438
- eISBN:
- 9780262329460
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- The MIT Press
- DOI:
- 10.7551/mitpress/9780262029438.003.0006
- Subject:
- Public Health and Epidemiology, Public Health
This chapter briefly explores the potential mechanisms underlying a transition from inanimate matter to life. First of all, the structure of a minimal cell is discussed, according to chemoton theory ...
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This chapter briefly explores the potential mechanisms underlying a transition from inanimate matter to life. First of all, the structure of a minimal cell is discussed, according to chemoton theory and autopoiesis. A summary of current theories about the origin of life on Earth then follows: starting from the formation of organic compounds in a prebiotic world, various hypotheses have been formulated about how these basic building blocks could have been combined into self-replicating and evolving structures that can be considered alive. Three of these hypotheses are covered: RNA World hypothesis, the Iron-Sulfur World, and the Lipid World. The chapter is concluded with an overview of Artificial Chemistries intended to study minimal cells and the origins of life, such as autocatalytic sets and autopoietic protocells.Less
This chapter briefly explores the potential mechanisms underlying a transition from inanimate matter to life. First of all, the structure of a minimal cell is discussed, according to chemoton theory and autopoiesis. A summary of current theories about the origin of life on Earth then follows: starting from the formation of organic compounds in a prebiotic world, various hypotheses have been formulated about how these basic building blocks could have been combined into self-replicating and evolving structures that can be considered alive. Three of these hypotheses are covered: RNA World hypothesis, the Iron-Sulfur World, and the Lipid World. The chapter is concluded with an overview of Artificial Chemistries intended to study minimal cells and the origins of life, such as autocatalytic sets and autopoietic protocells.
Frank H. T. Rhodes
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- January 2017
- ISBN:
- 9781501702440
- eISBN:
- 9781501706233
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Cornell University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7591/cornell/9781501702440.003.0018
- Subject:
- Earth Sciences and Geography, Cultural and Historical Geography
This concluding chapter describes the “grandeur,” as Darwin himself has put it, in the brief glimpses of life so far explored in this volume. It invites the reader to experience this grandeur through ...
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This concluding chapter describes the “grandeur,” as Darwin himself has put it, in the brief glimpses of life so far explored in this volume. It invites the reader to experience this grandeur through the steady development and growth of life from its hazy origin and early manifestations, down the long corridors of time that lead to the present. Life is after all a history of millions upon millions of millions of individuals, of millions of different species, through millions of years. In an endless procession, animals and plants have spread and multiplied and vanished, each for a fleeting moment a part of the continuing process we call life.Less
This concluding chapter describes the “grandeur,” as Darwin himself has put it, in the brief glimpses of life so far explored in this volume. It invites the reader to experience this grandeur through the steady development and growth of life from its hazy origin and early manifestations, down the long corridors of time that lead to the present. Life is after all a history of millions upon millions of millions of individuals, of millions of different species, through millions of years. In an endless procession, animals and plants have spread and multiplied and vanished, each for a fleeting moment a part of the continuing process we call life.
T. Gánti
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- April 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780198507260
- eISBN:
- 9780191584886
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198507260.003.0001
- Subject:
- Biology, Evolutionary Biology / Genetics
This chapter introduces some of the concepts central to Génti's main argument, and illustrates how the core problem of the nature of the living state applies at many levels of life. Topics discussed ...
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This chapter introduces some of the concepts central to Génti's main argument, and illustrates how the core problem of the nature of the living state applies at many levels of life. Topics discussed include the chemoton, life at the prokaryotic level, life at the animal level, and eukaryotic cells and fungi.Less
This chapter introduces some of the concepts central to Génti's main argument, and illustrates how the core problem of the nature of the living state applies at many levels of life. Topics discussed include the chemoton, life at the prokaryotic level, life at the animal level, and eukaryotic cells and fungi.
Frank H. T. Rhodes
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- January 2017
- ISBN:
- 9781501702440
- eISBN:
- 9781501706233
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Cornell University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7591/cornell/9781501702440.001.0001
- Subject:
- Earth Sciences and Geography, Cultural and Historical Geography
Fossils are the fragments from which, piece by laborious piece, the great mosaic of the history of life has been constructed. Here and there, we can supplement these scraps by the use of biochemical ...
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Fossils are the fragments from which, piece by laborious piece, the great mosaic of the history of life has been constructed. Here and there, we can supplement these scraps by the use of biochemical markers or geochemical signatures that add useful information, but, even with such additional help, our reconstructions and our models of descent are often tentative. This book explores the origin and evolution of living things, the changing environments in which they have developed, and the challenges we now face on an increasingly crowded and polluted planet. The book argues that the future well-being of our burgeoning population depends in no small part on our understanding of life's past, its long and slow development, and its intricate interdependencies. The book's accessible and extensively illustrated treatment of the origins narrative describes the nature of the search for prehistoric life, the significance of geologic time, the origin of life, the emergence and spread of flora and fauna, the evolution of primates, and the emergence of modern humans.Less
Fossils are the fragments from which, piece by laborious piece, the great mosaic of the history of life has been constructed. Here and there, we can supplement these scraps by the use of biochemical markers or geochemical signatures that add useful information, but, even with such additional help, our reconstructions and our models of descent are often tentative. This book explores the origin and evolution of living things, the changing environments in which they have developed, and the challenges we now face on an increasingly crowded and polluted planet. The book argues that the future well-being of our burgeoning population depends in no small part on our understanding of life's past, its long and slow development, and its intricate interdependencies. The book's accessible and extensively illustrated treatment of the origins narrative describes the nature of the search for prehistoric life, the significance of geologic time, the origin of life, the emergence and spread of flora and fauna, the evolution of primates, and the emergence of modern humans.
Raymond L. Neubauer
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- November 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780231150705
- eISBN:
- 9780231521680
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Columbia University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7312/columbia/9780231150705.003.0010
- Subject:
- Biology, Evolutionary Biology / Genetics
This chapter explores the origin of life by focusing on at least three sources for molecules that could be precursors to life: chemical processes in interstellar space and at hydrothermal vents, and ...
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This chapter explores the origin of life by focusing on at least three sources for molecules that could be precursors to life: chemical processes in interstellar space and at hydrothermal vents, and electric discharge through primitive atmospheres. We cannot yet say whether life exists beyond Earth, but we have found that the precursors to the molecules of life are much more widespread and easily made than previously thought. This suggests that evolutionary processes may be prevalent all over the universe. This chapter also examines how the three possible sources for the molecules of life mentioned above might be made and the role they play in the life of cells. In particular, it discusses four different groups of molecules: proteins, lipids, DNA and RNA, and sugars. It also considers impact craters as ideal sites for experiments leading to life on the early planet, along with the origins of metabolism.Less
This chapter explores the origin of life by focusing on at least three sources for molecules that could be precursors to life: chemical processes in interstellar space and at hydrothermal vents, and electric discharge through primitive atmospheres. We cannot yet say whether life exists beyond Earth, but we have found that the precursors to the molecules of life are much more widespread and easily made than previously thought. This suggests that evolutionary processes may be prevalent all over the universe. This chapter also examines how the three possible sources for the molecules of life mentioned above might be made and the role they play in the life of cells. In particular, it discusses four different groups of molecules: proteins, lipids, DNA and RNA, and sugars. It also considers impact craters as ideal sites for experiments leading to life on the early planet, along with the origins of metabolism.
Frank H. T. Rhodes
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- January 2017
- ISBN:
- 9781501702440
- eISBN:
- 9781501706233
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Cornell University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7591/cornell/9781501702440.003.0003
- Subject:
- Earth Sciences and Geography, Cultural and Historical Geography
This chapter tackles the question of the origins of life. As we trace the origins and emergence of a variety of organisms, we confront even more challenging and comprehensive questions; such as how ...
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This chapter tackles the question of the origins of life. As we trace the origins and emergence of a variety of organisms, we confront even more challenging and comprehensive questions; such as how life has emerged from nonlife, or how the earliest living things or even life itself had evolved. The chapter chronicles Charles Darwin's own attempts to answer these questions, pointing out the particular difficulties of defining life in general. It then pursues a broader line of inquiry, referencing certain popular theories of the emergence of life from such eminences as Aristotle, in puzzling out the earliest records of life on Earth.Less
This chapter tackles the question of the origins of life. As we trace the origins and emergence of a variety of organisms, we confront even more challenging and comprehensive questions; such as how life has emerged from nonlife, or how the earliest living things or even life itself had evolved. The chapter chronicles Charles Darwin's own attempts to answer these questions, pointing out the particular difficulties of defining life in general. It then pursues a broader line of inquiry, referencing certain popular theories of the emergence of life from such eminences as Aristotle, in puzzling out the earliest records of life on Earth.
