| Darwin's warm little pond revisited: from molecules to the origin of life. | |
| | |
MedLine Citation:
|
PMID: 19760276 Owner: NLM Status: MEDLINE |
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
|
All known cosmic and geological conditions and laws of chemistry and thermodynamics allow that complex organic matter could have formed spontaneously on pristine planet Earth about 4,000 mya. Simple gasses and minerals on the surface and in oceans of the early Earth reacted and were eventually organized in supramolecular aggregates and enveloped cells that evolved into primitive forms of life. Chemical evolution, which preceded all species of extant organisms, is a fact. In this review, we have concentrated on experimental and theoretical research published over the last two decades, which has added a wealth of new details and helped to close gaps in our previous understanding of this multifaceted field. Recent exciting progress in the molecular and genetic analyses of existing life, in particular microorganisms of ancient origin, even supports the possibility that a cellular, self-reproducing common ancestor might be assembled and resurrected in anaerobic cultures at some time in the future. Charles Darwin did not, and indeed, could not, address and specify the earliest phases of life which preceded the Origin of Species. However, in a famous letter, he sketched "a warm little pond with all sorts of... (chemicals, in which) ...a protein was chemically formed." We try to trace the impact of his charming clear-sighted metaphor up to the present time. |
| | |
Authors:
|
Hartmut Follmann; Carol Brownson |
Related Documents
:
|
15846876 - Technical review of the laboratory biosphere closed ecological system facility. 16657466 - Choice of rotation rate for the horizontal clinostat. 12959136 - Plant-centered biosystems in space environments: technological concepts for developing ... 11542556 - Integration of waste processing and biomass production systems as part of the ksc bread... 17293036 - The solubility of cr(iii) and cr(vi) compounds in soil and their availability to plants. 10837996 - Evaluation of antifungal activity of extracts of two cameroonian rutaceae: zanthoxylum ... |
Publication Detail:
|
Type: Biography; Historical Article; Journal Article; Review Date: 2009-09-17 |
Journal Detail:
|
Title: Die Naturwissenschaften Volume: 96 ISSN: 1432-1904 ISO Abbreviation: Naturwissenschaften Publication Date: 2009 Nov |
Date Detail:
|
Created Date: 2010-01-29 Completed Date: 2010-04-23 Revised Date: - |
Medline Journal Info:
|
Nlm Unique ID: 0400767 Medline TA: Naturwissenschaften Country: Germany |
Other Details:
|
Languages: eng Pagination: 1265-92 Citation Subset: IM |
Affiliation:
|
Institute of Biology, University of Kassel, 34109, Kassel, Germany. hfollman@uni-kassel.de |
Export Citation:
|
APA/MLA Format Download EndNote Download BibTex |
| MeSH Terms | |
Descriptor/Qualifier:
|
Animals Biogenesis* Biology / history Carbohydrates / chemistry Chemistry / history Earth (Planet) Evolution Genetic Variation History, 19th Century Mutation Nucleic Acids / chemistry Poaceae / physiology Species Specificity Thermodynamics |
| Chemical | |
Reg. No./Substance:
|
0/Carbohydrates; 0/Nucleic Acids |
| Personal Name Subject | |
Personal Name Subject:
|
Charles Darwin |
From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine
Previous Document: Magnetoreception in birds: no intensity window in "fixed direction" responses.
Next Document: Charles Darwin, beetles and phylogenetics.