Wednesday, July 7, 2010

From amino acids to cells


The abiotic formation of amino acids, as demonstrated by the Miller-Urey experiment, is still a long way from manufacturing a living organism, and filling in the steps between non-living and living is an area of active research involving chemists, biologists, geologists, and physicists.

The discovery of structures called protobionts provides information on how one of the next steps took place: Protobionts are aggregates of organic molecules enclosed in a membrane. These structures can form spontaneously at Earth surface conditions, for example, through alternate wetting and drying conditions that might take place naturally on a tidal flat.

Protobionts provide an analog for the step between macromolecules and cells, and the discovery of protobionts suggest that it is only a matter of time before we discover the intermediate steps between the abiotic precursors and living things.

Helpful notes on the transition from abiotic to biotic, here.

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