Origin of Life Studies

The question of the origin of life has long held high priority in the search for human understanding of the natural world. The "when," the "what" and the "how" continue to be elusive. Christians, Jews, and Muslims each affirm a creator God - the "who", but each Abrahamic branch has been unable to agree on the details. It is notable that Charles Darwin was very hesitant to speak about the origin of life in the period after his Origin of Species. At one early stage he spoke of a creator of the first life later he wrote about events occurring in a pond somewhere.

In the physical sciences, abiogenesis, the question of the origin of life, is the study of how life on Earth might have emerged from non-life sometime between 3.9 and 4.1 billion years ago. This topic also includes theories and ideas regarding possible the extra-planetary or extra-terrestrial origin of life.

Origin of life studies is a limited field of research despite its profound impact on biology and human understanding of the natural world. Progress in this field is generally slow and sporadic, though it still draws the attention of many due to the eminence of the question being investigated. One plausible reason for the slow rate of progress is that it is difficult to obtain funding for research in this area, since practical commercial applications for the research are difficult to foresee. A few facts give insight into the conditions in which life may have emerged, but the mechanisms by which non-life became life are still elusive.

Astronomers have found the largest negatively charged molecule so far seen in interstellar space. The discovery, of an organic compound, suggests that the chemical building blocks of life may be more common in the Universe than had been previously thought. The molecule is a chain of eight carbons and a single hydrogen called the octatetraynyl anion (C₈HŻ). Two teams of scientists have spotted it near a dying star and in a cloud of cold gas. The discovery, along with that of three smaller organic molecules in the past year, opens up a suite of potential chemical reactions and products. It suggests that 'prebiotic' molecules such as amino acids, the building blocks of protein, could form all over the Universe, says Tony Remijan, an astronomer at the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) in Charlottesville, Virginia.
Nature Full Story

Researchers at the University of California, Santa Cruz, have determined the three-dimensional structure of an RNA enzyme, or "ribozyme," that carries out a fundamental reaction required to make new RNA molecules. Their results provide insight into what may have been the first self-replicating molecule to arise billions of years ago on the evolutionary path toward the emergence of life. In all forms of life known today, the synthesis of DNA and RNA molecules is carried out by enzymes made of proteins. The instructions for making those proteins are contained in genes made of DNA or RNA (nucleic acids). The circularity of this process poses a challenge for theories about the origins of life. "Which came first, nucleic acids or proteins? This question once seemed an intractable paradox, but with the discovery of ribozymes, it is now possible to imagine a prebiotic 'RNA World' in which self-replicating ribozymes accomplished both tasks," said William Scott, associate professor of chemistry and biochemistry at UC Santa Cruz. Full Story Red Orbit

Selecting life: Scientists find new way to search for origin of life (Nov 9, 2006) Over the last half century, researchers have found that mineral surfaces may have played critical roles activating molecules that would become essential ingredients to life. Identifying which biomolecule/ mineral surface pairs, however, has stumped scientists for years because of countless possible combinations. Now a team of researchers, led by Robert Hazen of the Carnegie Institution's Geophysical Laboratory, has developed new protocols and procedures for adapting DNA microarray technology to rapidly identify promising molecule/mineral pairs. Full Story EurekAlert

Small Molecule Interactions Were Central To The Origin Of Life (May 16, 2006) -- An important new paper argues against the widely held theory that the origin of life began with the spontaneous appearance of a large, replicating molecule such as RNA. Instead, Robert Shapiro (NYU) ...

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September 2005: Life's Origins Were Easier Than Was Thought. An international team of scientists, leaded by Universitat Autňnoma de Barcelona researchers, has discovered that RNA early molecules were much more resistant than was thought until now. According to the conclusions of the study, they may have developed enough to contain around 100 genes, which is considered to be the minimum quantity required for the most basic forms of primitive life, similar to the bacteria we have today. The research was published in Nature Genetics.

Mauro Santos. (Image courtesy of Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona)

In the primordial soup that produced life on earth, there were organic molecules that combined to produce the first nucleic acid chains, which were the first elements able to self-replicate. According to one of the more accepted theories, these molecules were ribonucleic acid (RNA) chains, a molecule that is practically identical to DNA and that today has the secondary role in cells of copying information stored in DNA and translating it into proteins. These proteins have a direct active role in the chemical reactions of the cell. In the early stages of life, it seems that the first RNA chains would have had the dual role of self-replicatin g (as is today the case with DNA) and participating actively in the chemical reactions of the cell activity. Because of their dual role, these cells are called ribozymes (a contraction of the words ribosome and enzyme). But there is an important obstacle to the theory of ribozymes as the origin of life: they could not be very large in length as they would not be able to correct the replication errors (mutations). Therefore they were unable to contain enough genes even to develop the most simple organisms.

Sept 2004 Battle Of The Bubbles May Have Sparked Evolution The first survival-of-the-fittest competition was likely a physical duel between fatty bubbles stuffed with genetic material, researchers from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute are proposing. The scientists suggest that genetic material that replicated quickly may have been all the bubbles needed to edge out their competitors and begin evolving into more sophisticated cells. ScienceDaily

Apr 2004 Discovery Offers Clues To Origin Of Life A new discovery of microbial activity in 3.5 billion-year-old volcanic rock and one of earth's earliest signs of geological existence sheds new light on the antiquity of life, says University of Alberta researchers who are part of a team that made the groundbreaking finding. ScienceDaily

These headlines attest to the fact the quest for the origin of the first living matter is still alive. As scientific understanding has changed, the ways in which this quest has been framed have taken new directions. In each generation the approach to the subject has been influenced by contemporary theories of biology, chemistry and physics, the latest tools and techniques, and the religious and political culture of the times. Progress is slow and each public announcement receives much attention.

The question of the origin of life has a long and controversial history. Many readers will come with a point of view - perhaps looking for material to bolster their convictions. Others will come with questions as they seek to come to an understanding that fits their theological position.

The ASA takes seriously the work of scientists and biblical scholars. Both accounts are important in gaining a picture of the origin of life. It is all too easy for the Christian to downplay the work of scientists or for scientists to dismiss Christians as out of touch with reality. This page offers insights from various points of view rather than the answer to this intriguing subject.

While all agree that the origin of the first life on earth is a mystery rooted in speculation and /or religious conviction, three lines of investigation have emerged over the years to bolster the probability that such an event naturally occurred.

Today, an international set of research groups actively pursues various scenarios leading to a self-replicating cell. Fame and fortune await the individual or group that can first successfully accomplish this elusive challenge.

As scientists continue their efforts it is well to keep in mind Christian de Duve's comment:

Today, with few exceptions, the reaction of evangelicals to claims that life emerged from non-living matter through natural processes ranges from deep skepticism to ridicule. This pessimistic position is framed on probability considerations, scientific grounds, philosophical arguments, and Biblical passages which seem to indicate that life came directly from God. However, a few evangelicals suggest that scripture may be read as indicating that created matter came with the potential to produce life. Both groups believe that God did it - the question is whether the or a plausible mechanism can be demonstrated for an inaccessible event. !

Next we will look more closely at current scientific approaches and a sampling of the Christian response to these studies. You will find an introduction to the various topics and links to further information. We also include a list of some of the scientists in the field and their interests. i

ASA/CSCA Newsletter

Basic concepts | Christian Response | Home Page | recent headlines |
scientific approaches | for the younger student! |

Origin of Life Studies

ASA/CSCA Newsletter

Basic concepts | Christian Response | Home Page | recent headlines | scientific approaches | for the younger student! |

Origin of Life Studies

Basic concepts | Christian Response | Home Page | recent headlines |
scientific approaches | for the younger student! |