Betsy Smeed » Origin of Life

Prussian Blue Salt Linked to Origin of Life

Betsy — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 14:34:07 +0000

From Science Daily, iron (III) hexacyanoferrate (II) or Prussian blue salt when added to ammonia makes hydrogen cyanide. Which is an important building block when it comes to creating life. Leading to stuff like urea, lactic acid and dimethylhydantoin. Interesting bit about it concentrating carbon and creating hematite.

Post 100!

Origin of Life

Betsy — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 16:44:34 +0000

From New Scientist, a list of how life could have started. I haven’t seen a detailed list like this on abiogeneses. Most of the research looks at replication or metabolism. This ties both together for the first time.

Also a longer article

The salt of life

Betsy — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 12:48:29 +0000

From Science Daily, German scientists have discovered that using salts (NaCl, CaCl2, MgCl2 and KCl) amino acids will form pyrroles. Pyrroles are important for photosynthesis.

Fundamental Ingredient for Life Discovered in Comet

Betsy — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 13:43:12 +0000

From Fox News, Glycine has been found on comet Wild 2. Carbon 13 was used as an indicator of extraterrestrial origin.

Cool Stars Have Different Mix of Chemicals

Betsy — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 17:33:31 +0000

From the NASA Spitzer news page, A look at the chemicals around smaller and cooler stars than the sun show that they do not have hydrogen cyanide, but acetylene. The speculation is that ultraviolet light is involved in the creation of HCN. Also small stars have extreme magnetic bursts that can be disruptive for life. So the implications for life on planets around these stars seems to be less likely than sun-like stars.

The Handiness Question

Betsy — Sat, 01 Mar 2008 22:13:23 +0000

One of the big questions in the origin of life, is why are some chemicals right handed or left handed. Usually in a reaction, the two enantiomers are formed. And this is dependent on several factors. Looking at meteorites, scientists have found that in space there is a higher proportion of left-handed amino acids than expected.

Abstract

Edit: After publishing this piece, I received information about a conference on this topic.

That Evolution Thing

Betsy — Tue, 20 Mar 2007 14:59:11 +0000

So Rogers AR maybe the new Dover. Parents there seem to want “critical thinking” about evolution. But I doubt that any critical thinking about “creation science” will be allowed.

Cool shit in OZ. The South Australia Museum will be displaying fossils from the Ediacaran period. These PreCambrian fossils are some of the oldest animal fossils.

And finally, some help for the RNA World hypothesis. The discovery of a RNA enzyme that acts like RNA polymerase(meaning that it can join pieces of RNA together) is big news. Abstract

We are made of rock

Betsy — Fri, 22 Dec 2006 02:57:59 +0000

I use to get irritated when some fundy made the comment that science says that we are made out of rock or dirt or the like. Even when they say that Genesis is how we were created: Adam from dust (Genesis 2:7). I realized that what upset me was not that geochemical processes created life from non-life that eventually formed 3.8 billion years ago-give or take. What really bothered me was the belief that it was impossible for such a thing to occur without some form of divine assistance. That somehow rocks were inert. It makes me wonder if people do not know what the incredible mingling of water and limestone do over millions of years to from glistening caverns of calcite.

I think of silicate and the different forms that (SiO2) can become. In its simplest, it crystallizes into clear six-sided spears. And with a few impurities these spears come in a wide verities of hues. And when precipitated out of solution it can become agates of all different sorts. Then there’s flints and jaspers and on and on. And all that from two little chemicals.

When the Miller-Urey experiment was conducted; water, methane and nitrogen gas, with a little bit of heat and a little bit of electricity there formed amino acids. Since that time we have discovered all sorts of organic compounds in space. And since that time we discovered hydrothermal vents with their odd chemistries and lifeforms. So that now it is thought iron and sulfur complexes catalyze organic molecules.

So that next time some Intelligent Design proponent says Ã¢â‚¬Å“you just think we’re made out of rocks.Ã¢â‚¬Â I’ll just smile and say yes.