Life May Have Evolved In Ice 159
Philip Bailey writes "An article in this month's Discover Magazine claims that some of the fundamental organic molecules required for the development of life could have spontaneously arisen within ice. Scientist Stanley Miller was responsible for seminal experiments in the 1950s in this area. He used sparks and a mixture of inorganic chemicals to test his theories, but turned to low temperature experiments in later years. He was able to create the constituents of RNA and proteins from a mixture of cyanide, ammonia and ice in trials lasting up to 25 years. A process known as eutectic freezing is thought to be the basis of these results: small pockets of liquid water, in which foreign molecules are concentrated enormously, increases the reaction rates, and more than compensates for temperature-related slowing."
Why so few cryophiles? (Score:5, Insightful)
Instead, we seem to see limited scattering species that have independently evolved various forms of ice-tolerance. I could be wrong. If so, I'd love to hear if biologists have found evidence for a widely shared mechanism for ice-tolerance that speaks to a frozen beginning.
Re:Ice... (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Ice... (Score:1, Insightful)
Re:And it might have evolved in a Chicken McNugget (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:And it might have evolved in a Chicken McNugget (Score:3, Insightful)
Give yourself a pat on the back, and -10 modpoints (Score:4, Insightful)
If we want to look for life on other planets then this research may help us, if it can be shown life is possible or even likely on frozen planets.
"We're here so let's make the most of it."
Yeah, let's not study ourselves, our origins, or science at all. Why bother with history? We're here, lets make the most of it.
Genius.
Re:And it might have evolved in a Chicken McNugget (Score:4, Insightful)
what does it mean ? (Score:4, Insightful)
I don't know so much that they are intending to say that the earliest life forms were created in ice.
But I don't know, I didn't read the article. Just taking a break from the superbowl.
you'd better believe it (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Ice... (Score:5, Insightful)
Possibly.
One of the ongoing problems in paleobiology is the "early quiet sun". Solar models, which we now know to be extremely accurate based on solar neutrino measurements, show that the sun was considerably dimmer in the distant past. So dim that by any reasonable standard we would expect the Earth to be substantially covered with... ice.
A mechanism that would cause life to form in an icy environment would give a lot of answers to open questions.
Google "standard solar model", "early quiet sun" and "Sudbury Neutrino Observatory" for some of the background on this.
Re:And it might have evolved in a Chicken McNugget (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Why so few cryophiles? (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:The history tells the future argument (Score:4, Insightful)
Earth's Temp (Score:3, Insightful)
Utmost respect for Dr Millers work. (Score:2, Insightful)
The problem about the origin of life, (which has a direct impact on the evaluation of Drake's equation) is how hard is it to make a molecule, by 'chance' that is selectively self-replicating. Molecular biology is a very young field.
Re:Oxygen Catastrophe? (Score:2, Insightful)
I would think that the Oxygen Catastrophe would have selected more towards the cryophiles, not away. This, also, is wild speculation.
Re:Earth's Temp (Score:3, Insightful)
Is that a serious question? The answer is no, because the only way to stop evolution is to extinguish all life as we know it.
As long as any organism is alive and has the ability to reproduce with genetic drift, life will continue to evolve. Besides, our predictions of global temperature increase by the end of the century are all below increases of 15C. Species which are adapted to higher temperatures, like Thermus aquaticus, will certainly not be wiped out by global warming, they will continue to evolve.
Where's the -1 Misinformed mod when you need it?