Origin of Life

Today everyone believes life is originated from the common ancestor a tiny bacterium this belief is not blind as the most of the religious world say even no mere assumption. It is based on the facts that we know today. There is a no scope of formation of the Adam and Eve as an entire at the beginning of this planet or any other planet until a tiny cell got formed and if it happened then the tiny cell was not worth to recognize by the almost religious institutions.

Thanks to Charles Darwin who state that we are the modified descendant of our ancestor in his biogeographic studies which led the foundation of evolution. After Darwin, people trying to think beyond the religious aspects of origin of life not only on the earth but also on other planet we have made the presence to search the life.

 Before the origin of the tiny creature we understand the composition of the basic unit of life. When we realise it then we can make out the thing that life is made up of the lifeless molecules. Early earth consists of lighter gasses like hydrogen and helium but situation changes quickly and other gases like methane, ammonia, water vapours and carbon dioxide replaced it. Even early environment had very less or no free oxygen condition in short we can say that it was reducing environment which was favourable for formation of macromolecules essential for life.

 At the very basic atomic level we know that with the exception of certain metal ions, cell is composed of elements of second and third period of periodic table. Six non-metals as Oxygen, Carbon, Hydrogen, Nitrogen, phosphorus and sulphur contribute almost 98% of total mass of cell. Regardless of the origin all cells contains these elements approximately same proportions. The relative abundance of these elements in the sea, oceans and earth crust does not by itself explain their utilization for life. For example Aluminium is more abundant than carbon but it performs no known function essential for life but if we consider these six elements, the intrinsic chemical properties of these six elements suggest their unique suitability as building block for the life.

Again a question comes in our mind that from where these elements came together to create the atmosphere suitable for the origin of life and the answer comes as the origin of our solar system ultimately the earth which was happened around 4.5 billion years ago. According to the Solar nebula hypothesis Solar system formed from a large, rotating cloud of interstellar dust and gas called the solar nebula. It was composed of hydrogen and helium created shortly after the Big Bang which was supposed to happened around 13.4 Billion years ago. If this is happen in case of the formation of earth then there is probability of formation of planets like earth and there is also possibility of life on those planets too.

Origin of Life_scientists

Origin of life is the biggest task for which we are searching the most probable reason. In this journey we got lots of clues by the work of great people in which some of the prominent names are as Oparin, Haldane, Miller and Bernal. Contribution of these people leads to open the clue for the origin of life. Origin of life is not mere a assembly of chemical chemical accumulation. It is the system wich have the capacity of self renewal. According to concept of oparin and haldane which was practically proven by miller by his experiment that origin takes palce in the premordial soup and according to bernal it was taken place in the miniral clay(Clay honeycomb). But for origin one another theory was Proposed that is the Panspermia according to which the alien seeds are responsible fo the origin. As per our best knowedge we don’t know any other planet where life is exists, Why is this? which things are missing on our neighoburing planets is any other foreign factor was responsible for the origin or our earth have differnt set of chemical composition? If we see the out come of the recent mission Rosetta is that they have reported finding amino acid and organic polymers there. And also some reports of formation and alteration of complex amino acid precursors in cosmic dusts. All these findings show their relevance to origins of life. If we consider the most popular concept of the premordial soup it seems sort of dramatic. Because today we are studying various biological systems and all are following the fundamental laws of the nature. So it is more apropriate to study it in accordance of these laws. Because in all these procecess chemical approach was dominant rather than the physio-chemical. The clay honey comb approach is also gives dominant clue about the origin.

                                          Rosetta  Image : DLR German Aerospace Center

 

Origin of life is the combination of all the processes because the first cell formed was by chance only because we find various organic polymer and the amino acids in the primordial soup, mineral clay and on the comets, meteorites and asteroids and even in the cosmic dust, if big bang was the reasons then these all thing can be taken into consideration for origin of life because we cannot predict the exact chemical composition of the same which leads to further interaction which leads to origin of life but if big bang not happened (Just proposed assumption few days ago) then it might increase the time span of these all things that result in happening of origin of life.

Origin of Life_molecules

The earth is the most optimal place which gets all the essential factors need for the life and it is only due to chance not by any miracle. It is must to mention the trace element of earth like selenium which play important role in biological system. It might be the gift of any asteroid or meteorite no doubt.

If life originated, it must followed the fundamental laws of nature. As we observe that all chemical reaction are try to attain the equilibrium and the same way they follow the rules of thermodynamics. Biological system also does the same and cannot disobey these laws because all are made of the same chemical entities.

In next few article we are try to find answer to following questions.

How the planet earth is created?How the elements essential for life arrived? How they get reacted? How essential molecules essential for life form? How all aggregated? Ultimately how life came into existence? Why we are moving out from our planet to search the life? Whether it is like the way present on our earth or it is different. The answer to this question is it may be similar to our planet earth to know how the favorable environment leads to accomplish the formation of life on our planet.

 

Article By: Shaktiprasad Ingale

 

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