Yesterday I wrote:
> Peter,
>
> 1. Thanks for the reference. I tried to look it up on the Journal's website
> but I must be doing something incorrectly. Nothing is listed under Orgel as
> author, and the list of contents for volume 23 (1998) ends at p. 450. Any
> suggestions? I'd like to see the piece in its entirety to get a better sense
> of the context of his remarks.
Someone was kind enough to send me the article. It's location was exactly as
Peter stated. I'm still not sure why it did not show up on the journal's web
site.
I also asked Peter,
> 2. Question: Given Orgel's experience, does he despair of science ever
> coming to a better understanding of the formation of first life? Does he,
> for example, conclude that, in spite of all of the remarkable things that
> molecules and molecular configurations can do, the formational economy of
> the universe is inadequate for the actualization of life without being
> supplemented by some sort of divine action? Or, on the other hand, does he
> judge that it makes perfectly good sense for him to continue his research in
> the field of "first formation of living systems" (more commonly called
> "origin of life" research)?
I think I now have the answer to this question. Orgel open his brief review
essay as follows:
"The problem of the origin of life on the earth has much in common with a
well-constructed detective story. There is no shortage of clues pointing to
the way in which the crime, the contamination of the pristine environment of
the early earth, was committed. On the contrary, there are too many
suspects. It would be hard to find two investigators who agree on even the
broad outline of the events that occurred so long ago and made possible the
subsequent evolution of life in all its variety." P. 491
Orgel then proceeds with admirable candor to outline both the strengths and
weaknesses of several theories posing answers to either of two questions:
(1) What were the sources of the small organic molecules that made up the
first self-replicating system? (2) How did biological organization evolve
from an abiotic supply of small organic molecules? Orgel summarizes his
review by saying:
"In summary, there are several tenable theories about the origin of organic
material on the primitive earth, but in no case is the supporting evidence
compelling. Similarly, several alternative scenarios might account for the
self-organization of a self-replicating entity from prebiotic organic
material, but all of those that are that are well formulated are based on
hypothetical chemical syntheses that are problematic. Returning to our
detective story, we must conclude that we have identified some important
suspects and, in each case, we have some ideas about the method they might
have used. However, we are very far from knowing whodunit. The only
certainty is that there will be a rational solution." p. 495
Howard Van Till
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