
Maybe briefly.
Origin of life studies, like all science thinking influenced by Darwinism, focus on a single accidental event that made all the difference. (Remember, a suite of events that made a lot of difference would add up to design.)
At a recent NASA conference, hydrothermal vents were offered as the big explanation:
Three new papers co-authored by Mike Russell, a research scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., strengthen the case that Earth’s first life began at alkaline hydrothermal vents at the bottom of oceans.
A paper published in the journal Biochimica et Biophysica Acta analyzes the structural similarity between the most ancient enzymes of life and minerals precipitated at these alkaline vents, an indication that the first life didn’t have to invent its first catalysts and engines.
“Our work on alkaline hot springs on the ocean floor makes what we believe is the most plausible case for the origin of the life’s building blocks and its energy supply,” Russell said. “Our hypothesis is testable, has the right assortment of ingredients and obeys the laws of thermodynamics.”
Hydrothermal vents have come and gone before. And they’ll be back, with bells and whistles.