Understanding the key requirement and the conditions that sparked life on Earth and beyond:clues and new knowledges supporting MuGeRo hypothesis.

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rosanna del Gaudio
Keyword(s):  
Molecular Level ◽  
Reaction Network ◽  
Multiple Root ◽  
Energy Sources ◽  
Scientific Cooperation ◽  
Primitive Form ◽  
Level Information ◽  
Complex Chemistry ◽  
Life On Earth ◽  
The Universe

<p>The aim of this work is to present and discuss the results of recent and ongoing wet and in silico laboratory experiments supporting Multiple Root Genesis (MuGeRo) hypothesis already proposed in search of<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>approaches surrounding the mysterious primeval steps of life emergence on Earth and elsewhere in the Universe. There are and have been reported many theories on how the very first life began on Earth, and also on how life itself evolved, some even say that life might have arisen on Earth more than once, and since it is hard to prove or disprove them there is no fully accepted theory.</p> <p>Approaching the primordial step of life emerging and possibile evolutionary scenarios from nonliving-matter towards answering the fundamental question about when, where and how life was born on Earth I’ll discuss essential requirement for the first emergence of life on Earth and Earth-like planets.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p> <p>As examples of proto-metabolic reactions occurred in a pre-biotic hydrogel context and as a model for the emergence and early evolution of life on Earth, I'm proposing the self-organizing M4 materials, having a complex chemistry, that I’ve obtained from both some meteorites and terrestrial rocks and minerals. Moreover, they are certainly the result of several coordinated activities and only some of them can be attributed to the meteorite or terrestrial rock components.</p> <p>The results so far obtained could point a way towards understanding how Earth kick-started metabolism emerged on landmass that arose from Archean oceans rather than in the depths near a deep sea hydrothermal vent.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p> <p>This work puts forward also an evolutionary scenario that satisfies the known constraints by proposing that life on Earth emerged, powered by solar radiation because the M4 catalytic activities might be a primitive form of reaction network supporting abiogenic development of life on Earth or elsewhere in the Universe. This in addition the idea that microbial or virus or early forms of life were already present in our solar system at the time of Earth’s formation so that<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>panspermia or abiogenesis results are not rival but two complementary theories.</p> <p>Concerning the role that minerals may have played in organizing organic matter rising towards life from supports to scaffolds or energy sources or molecular-level information. There are some hints concerning the role that some minerals may have played in organizing matter in its rise towards life, from simple supports to scaffolds, from energy sources to even maybe providers of molecular-level information.</p> <p>The work that remains to be done is huge is there an "interfacial" path from the disorganized complexity of prebiotic and "primitive-jam" to the functional systems that have been the precursors of life? To answer this question I hope soon to analyze with systems chemists the results already obtained and they will be obtained from new weighted experiments designed in scientific cooperation.</p>

The Shadow Biosphere Hypothesis: Non-knowledge in Emerging Disciplines

2019 ◽  
Vol 45 (4) ◽  
pp. 636-658
Author(s):  
Valentina Marcheselli
Keyword(s):  
Molecular Level ◽  
Scientific Practice ◽  
Mono Lake ◽  
Primitive Form ◽  
Form Of Life ◽  
Social Nature ◽  
Strategic Role ◽  
Life On Earth ◽  
Knowledge Claims

All life on Earth shares the same ancestor, the most primitive form of life that arose, in still unknown circumstances, more than 3.5 billion years ago. At least this is what is commonly assumed. Astrobiologists have revisited this assumption and advanced the hypothesis of the existence of a “shadow biosphere” on Earth: a parallel tree of life whose instances, being different at the molecular level to the kind of life we are used to, would remain hidden from view. In this paper, I take the emergence of the so-called shadow biosphere hypothesis and the controversial discovery of GFAJ-1, a microbe thriving in the arsenic-rich waters of Mono Lake, as an entry point to look into the strategic role of non-knowledge claims. I juxtapose the Latourian black-box, that is, those undiscussed technoscientific artifacts that are taken for granted in scientific practice, with the shadowy nature of non-knowledge claims in order to pay closer attention to the contingent, active, performative, and always social nature of the making of what is unknown. I conclude this paper by claiming that in the negotiation of what is unknown, emerging disciplines position themselves within the larger scientific community.

Elucidating the Weakly Reversible Cs-Pb-Br Perovskite Nanocrystal Reaction Network with High-Throughput Maps and Transformations

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jakob Dahl ◽  
Xingzhi Wang ◽  
Xiao Huang ◽  
Emory Chan ◽  
Paul Alivisatos
Keyword(s):  
High Throughput ◽  
Dynamic Equilibrium ◽  
Reaction Network ◽  
Substantial Impact ◽  
Equilibrium Behavior ◽  
Automated Method ◽  
Lead Bromide ◽  
Different Shapes ◽  
Complex Chemistry ◽  
Lead Halide

<p>Advances in automation and data analytics can aid exploration of the complex chemistry of nanoparticles. Lead halide perovskite colloidal nanocrystals provide an interesting proving ground: there are reports of many different phases and transformations, which has made it hard to form a coherent conceptual framework for their controlled formation through traditional methods. In this work, we systematically explore the portion of Cs-Pb-Br synthesis space in which many optically distinguishable species are formed using high-throughput robotic synthesis to understand their formation reactions. We deploy an automated method that allows us to determine the relative amount of absorbance that can be attributed to each species in order to create maps of the synthetic space. These in turn facilitate improved understanding of the interplay between kinetic and thermodynamic factors that underlie which combination of species are likely to be prevalent under a given set of conditions. Based on these maps, we test potential transformation routes between perovskite nanocrystals of different shapes and phases. We find that shape is determined kinetically, but many reactions between different phases show equilibrium behavior. We demonstrate a dynamic equilibrium between complexes, monolayers and nanocrystals of lead bromide, with substantial impact on the reaction outcomes. This allows us to construct a chemical reaction network that qualitatively explains our results as well as previous reports and can serve as a guide for those seeking to prepare a particular composition and shape. </p>

Hidden in its color: A molecular-level analysis of the beer’s Maillard reaction network

2021 ◽  
pp. 130112
Author(s):  
Stefan A. Pieczonka ◽  
Daniel Hemmler ◽  
Franco Moritz ◽  
Marianna Lucio ◽  
Martin Zarnkow ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Maillard Reaction ◽  
Molecular Level ◽  
Reaction Network ◽  
Level Analysis

PHILOSOPHY AND THE MEANING OF LIFE

Think ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (60) ◽  
pp. 33-49
Author(s):  
William Lyons
Keyword(s):  
Human Life ◽  
Meaning Of Life ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Eternal Life ◽  
Evolution Of The Universe ◽  
Life On Earth ◽  
The Universe

The author sets out to respond to the student complaint that ‘Philosophy did not answer “the big questions”’, in particular the question ‘What is the meaning of life?’ The response first outlines and evaluates the most common religious answer, that human life is given a meaning by God who created us and informs us that this life is just the pilgrim way to the next eternal life in heaven. He then discusses the response that, from the point of view of post-Darwinian science and the evolution of the universe and all that is in it, human life on Earth must be afforded no more meaning than the meaning we would give to a microscopic planaria or to some creature on another planet in a distant universe. All things including human creatures on Planet Earth just exist for a time and that is that. There is no plan or purpose. In the last sections the author outlines the view that it is we humans ourselves who give meaning to our lives by our choices of values or things that are worth pursuing and through our resulting sense of achievement or the opposite. Nevertheless the question ‘What is the meaning of life?’ can mean quite different things in different contexts, and so merit different if related answers. From one point of view one answer may lie in terms of the love of one human for another.

scholarly journals The formation of the building blocks of peptides on interstellar dust grains

2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (S350) ◽  
pp. 216-219
Author(s):  
N. F. W. Ligterink ◽  
J. Terwisscha van Scheltinga ◽  
V. Kofman ◽  
V. Taquet ◽  
S. Cazaux ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Interstellar Dust ◽  
Reaction Network ◽  
Building Blocks ◽  
Dust Grains ◽  
Reaction Products ◽  
Experimental Conditions ◽  
Interstellar Dust Grains ◽  
Temperature Programmed ◽  
Life On Earth ◽  
Emergence Of Life

AbstractThe emergence of life on Earth may have its origin in organic molecules formed in the interstellar medium. Molecules with amide and isocyanate groups resemble structures found in peptides and nucleobases and are necessary for their formation. Their formation is expected to take place in the solid state, on icy dust grains, and is studied here by far-UV irradiating a CH4:HNCO mixture at 20 K in the laboratory. Reaction products are detected by means of infrared spectroscopy and temperature programmed desorption - mass spectrometry. Various simple amides and isocyanates are formed, showing the importance of ice chemistry for their interstellar formation. Constrained by experimental conditions, a reaction network is derived, showing possible formation pathways of these species under interstellar conditions.

scholarly journals Elucidating the Weakly Reversible Cs-Pb-Br Perovskite Nanocrystal Reaction Network with High-Throughput Maps and Transformations

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jakob Dahl ◽  
Xingzhi Wang ◽  
Xiao Huang ◽  
Emory Chan ◽  
Paul Alivisatos
Keyword(s):  
High Throughput ◽  
Dynamic Equilibrium ◽  
Reaction Network ◽  
Substantial Impact ◽  
Equilibrium Behavior ◽  
Automated Method ◽  
Lead Bromide ◽  
Different Shapes ◽  
Complex Chemistry ◽  
Lead Halide

<p>Advances in automation and data analytics can aid exploration of the complex chemistry of nanoparticles. Lead halide perovskite colloidal nanocrystals provide an interesting proving ground: there are reports of many different phases and transformations, which has made it hard to form a coherent conceptual framework for their controlled formation through traditional methods. In this work, we systematically explore the portion of Cs-Pb-Br synthesis space in which many optically distinguishable species are formed using high-throughput robotic synthesis to understand their formation reactions. We deploy an automated method that allows us to determine the relative amount of absorbance that can be attributed to each species in order to create maps of the synthetic space. These in turn facilitate improved understanding of the interplay between kinetic and thermodynamic factors that underlie which combination of species are likely to be prevalent under a given set of conditions. Based on these maps, we test potential transformation routes between perovskite nanocrystals of different shapes and phases. We find that shape is determined kinetically, but many reactions between different phases show equilibrium behavior. We demonstrate a dynamic equilibrium between complexes, monolayers and nanocrystals of lead bromide, with substantial impact on the reaction outcomes. This allows us to construct a chemical reaction network that qualitatively explains our results as well as previous reports and can serve as a guide for those seeking to prepare a particular composition and shape. </p>

scholarly journals Diagnostics of Nitrogen-methane Atmospheric Glow Discharge Used for a Mimic of Prebiotic Atmosphere

2017 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 83-86
Author(s):  
V. Mazánková ◽  
L. Töröková ◽  
D. Trunec ◽  
F. Krčma ◽  
S. Matejčík ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Glow Discharge ◽  
Previous Investigation ◽  
Chemical Processes ◽  
Planetary Atmosphere ◽  
Gas Mixture ◽  
Prebiotic Atmosphere ◽  
Infra Red ◽  
Complex Chemistry ◽  
Life On Earth

The exploration of planetary atmosphere is being advanced by the exciting results of the Cassin-Huygens mission to Titan. The complex chemistry revealed in such atmospheres leading to the synthesis of bigger molecules is providing new insights into our understanding of how life on Earth developed. This work extends our previous investigation of nitrogen-methane (N<sub>2</sub>-CH<sub>4</sub>) atmospheric glow discharge for simulation chemical processes in prebiotic atmospheres. In presented experiments 2 % of water vapor were addet to nitrogen-methane gas mixture. Exhaust products of discharge in this gas mixture were in-situ analysed by Fourier Transform Infra Red spectroscopy (FTIR). The major products identified in spectra were: hydrogen cyanide, acetylene and acetonitrile.

scholarly journals Energy, genes and evolution: introduction to an evolutionary synthesis

2013 ◽  
Vol 368 (1622) ◽  
pp. 20120253 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nick Lane ◽  
William F. Martin ◽  
John A. Raven ◽  
John F. Allen
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Evolutionary Synthesis ◽  
Past Century ◽  
Major Transitions ◽  
Life On Earth ◽  
Energy Harnessing ◽  
Emergence Of Life ◽  
The Universe ◽  
Planetary Habitability ◽  
Origin Of Eukaryotes

Life is the harnessing of chemical energy in such a way that the energy-harnessing device makes a copy of itself. No energy, no evolution. The ‘modern synthesis’ of the past century explained evolution in terms of genes, but this is only part of the story. While the mechanisms of natural selection are correct, and increasingly well understood, they do little to explain the actual trajectories taken by life on Earth. From a cosmic perspective—what is the probability of life elsewhere in the Universe, and what are its probable traits?—a gene-based view of evolution says almost nothing. Irresistible geological and environmental changes affected eukaryotes and prokaryotes in very different ways, ones that do not relate to specific genes or niches. Questions such as the early emergence of life, the morphological and genomic constraints on prokaryotes, the singular origin of eukaryotes, and the unique and perplexing traits shared by all eukaryotes but not found in any prokaryote, are instead illuminated by bioenergetics. If nothing in biology makes sense except in the light of evolution, nothing in evolution makes sense except in the light of energetics. This Special Issue of Philosophical Transactions examines the interplay between energy transduction and genome function in the major transitions of evolution, with implications ranging from planetary habitability to human health. We hope that these papers will contribute to a new evolutionary synthesis of energetics and genetics.

scholarly journals From cosmos to intelligent life: the four ages of astrobiology

2012 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 345-350 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marcelo Gleiser
Keyword(s):  
Chemical Elements ◽  
Life Forms ◽  
Big Bang ◽  
Self Awareness ◽  
First Stars ◽  
History Of ◽  
Life On Earth ◽  
The Big Bang ◽  
The Universe ◽  
Intelligent Life

AbstractThe history of life on Earth and in other potential life-bearing planetary platforms is deeply linked to the history of the Universe. Since life, as we know, relies on chemical elements forged in dying heavy stars, the Universe needs to be old enough for stars to form and evolve. The current cosmological theory indicates that the Universe is 13.7 ± 0.13 billion years old and that the first stars formed hundreds of millions of years after the Big Bang. At least some stars formed with stable planetary systems wherein a set of biochemical reactions leading to life could have taken place. In this paper, I argue that we can divide cosmological history into four ages, from the Big Bang to intelligent life. The physical age describes the origin of the Universe, of matter, of cosmic nucleosynthesis, as well as the formation of the first stars and Galaxies. The chemical age began when heavy stars provided the raw ingredients for life through stellar nucleosynthesis and describes how heavier chemical elements collected in nascent planets and Moons gave rise to prebiotic biomolecules. The biological age describes the origin of early life, its evolution through Darwinian natural selection and the emergence of complex multicellular life forms. Finally, the cognitive age describes how complex life evolved into intelligent life capable of self-awareness and of developing technology through the directed manipulation of energy and materials. I conclude discussing whether we are the rule or the exception.

INTERPRETATION OF SPACE AND TIME IN ONTOLOGICAL PHILOSOPHY NAVOI

2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 80-87
Author(s):  
Toji Omonovich Norov ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Human Life ◽  
History Of Philosophy ◽  
Human Intelligence ◽  
Time And Space ◽  
Space And Time ◽  
History Of ◽  
Life On Earth ◽  
The Universe ◽  
Holy Book

The universe, the space that make up their basis planets in it, their creation, the main essence of their creation, form, composition, meaning, movements, interactions, their influence on human life and activities, the role of man in the universe and in life on Earth, life, the criteria of activity and processes occurring in time and space have long been of interest to humanity. One of the main problems in the history of philosophy is the question of space and time. This problem was defined in different ways in the great schools of thought by thinkers of different periods. One of these great thinkers is Alisher Navoi. Navoi's works, along with other socio-philosophical themes, uniquely express and analyze the problems of the firmament and time. Its main feature is that it is based on the divine (pantheistic) religion, Islam, its holy book, the Koran and other theological sources, as well as on the secrets of nature and the Universe, the main miracle of Allah - human intelligence, the power of enlightenment, they are the key revealing all these secrets.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document