Scientists at Newcastle University have uncovered a source of oxygen that may have influenced the evolution of life before the advent of photosynthesis. The pioneering research project, led by Newcastle University’s School of Natural and Environmental Sciences and published today in Nature Communications, uncovered a mechanism that can generate hydrogen peroxide from rocks during the movement of geological faults. While Read More…
Origin Of Life
At Science Daily: Scientists discover new ‘origins of life’ chemical reactions
“Scientists at Scripps Research have discovered a new set of chemical reactions that use cyanide, ammonia and carbon dioxide — all thought to be common on the early earth — to generate amino acids and nucleic acids, the building blocks of proteins and DNA.”
At Live Science: ‘Unlucky’ creatures that enter rare Red Sea brine pools are immediately stunned to death
Researcher: “Deep-sea brine pools are a great analog for the early Earth and, despite being devoid of oxygen and hypersaline, are teeming with a rich community of so-called ‘extremophile’ microbes.”
What is Life?
At Quanta: Without a good definition of life, how do we look for it on alien planets? Steven Strogatz speaks with Robert Hazen, a mineralogist and astrobiologist, and Sheref Mansy, a chemist, to learn more.
Did Life Originate on Earth or in the Cosmos? Part 2
Dr. Ross describes “the strengths and shortcomings of what [a team of 33 scientists] proposes to be the only naturalistic alternative to an Earth-based origin and history of life.”
How Could Life Evolve From Cyanide?
How did life arise on Earth? Steven Strogatz speaks with the Nobel Prize-winning biologist Jack Szostak and Betül Kaçar, a paleogeneticist and astrobiologist, to explore our best understanding of how we all got here.
At Quanta Magazine: A New Physics Theory of Life
Jeremy England: “You start with a random clump of atoms, and if you shine light on it for long enough, it should not be so surprising that you get a plant,” England said.
At Science: Did volcanic ‘glasses’ help spark early life?
In an artificially engineered experiment, researchers produced long strands of nucleoside triphosphates (the “letters” of RNA).
Ryugu asteroid samples contain clues to origin of life, Japan scientists say
Dust from an asteroid collected by a Japanese space probe contains clues to the origin of life, suggesting it was formed in space, scientists reported Friday.
Nature article: Origin of life theory involving RNA–protein hybrid gets new support
Davide Castelvecchi: Chemists say they have solved a crucial problem in a theory of life’s beginnings, by demonstrating that RNA molecules can link short chains of amino acids together.
At The Federalist: What design can explain about life’s origins that chance can’t
The scientific establishment is slowly beginning to allow scientists who believe in intelligent design to have a platform. Why? It may be because the theory that the universe was crafted intentionally explains many essential realities that theories based on spontaneous chance do not…
830 mya organisms found in Australia may still be alive
The implications for finding fossil remnants of life on Mars are addressed in the article. The researchers acknowledge that survival of microorganisms over geological timescales is “not fully understood.”
Novel RNA and peptide species thought to have sparked evolution of complex life
Researcher: According to the new theory, a decisive element at the beginning was the presence of RNA molecules that could adorn themselves with amino acids and peptides and so join them into larger peptide structures. “RNA developed slowly into a constantly improving amino acid linking catalyst,” says Carell. (He talks about the emergence of “information-coding properties” as if that would just happen.)
Claim: Complex cells started without oxygen
Yes, the ham sandwich was invented that way too. It started without any ham…
Physicist Eric Hedin was bullied by atheists but not squashed
Hedin: Life with its “radiant beauty” defies naturalistic explanations.