EARTH AND LIFE SCIENCE

Life Science: The Origin of Life

School Year 2018 – 2019
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THEORIES ON THE ORIGIN OF LIFE

1. THE THEORY OF SPECIAL CREATION
The theory of special creation is the theory that Earth and living organisms we’re
created by a special single entity, more commonly known as God. Many religions
believe that living organisms were created in their current, present day form,
ultimately claiming that living beings have the inability to evolve and/or adapt
(Author Unknown 2004, A Dictionary of Biology, Oxford University Press).

A specific example of a special creation theory is the religion of Christianity, this

religion is the worlds most followed of all religions, (2.1 billion adherents). The book of
Genesis is the basis of this religion and in it, it states that the Earth was a void of
darkness and that God over a period of 6 days created night and day, water and
land, vegetation, the sun and moon and evidently living creatures. (The book of
Genesis, http://www.vatican.va/).

2. COSMOZIC THEORY
Cosmozoic theory (Theory of panspermia) given by Richter (1865), Helmholtz (1884),
Arrhenius (1908) suggested that life reached the earth from some heavenly body
through meteorites. Panspermia (primitive form of life, as suggested by Arrhenius,
1908) consisted of spores or seeds (sperms) and microbes that existed throughout
universe and produced different forms of life on this earth.

The Cosmozoic Theory proposes that life on earth did not actually originate on this
planet, though there are several other theories on how life actually did arrive.
According to this theory, ‘protoplasm’ reached the earth in the form of spores or
germs or other simple particles from some unknown part of the universe with the
cosmic dust, and subsequently evolved into various forms of life. Helmholz (1884)
speculated that ‘protoplasm’ in some form reached the earth with falling meteorites.

Evidences against Cosmozoic Theory: Living matter cannot survive the extreme cold,
dryness and ultra-violet radiation from the sun required to be crossed for reaching the
earth.

3. THEORY OF SPONTANEOUS GENERATION OR “ABIOGENESIS”

Majority of the scientists are of the opinion that life originated from inanimate matter.
Since the theory of abiogenic origin or chemical evolution of life is the only one that
provides an explanation, which can be tested, most scientists have tentatively
accepted it.

Organic evolution are the events involved in the evolutionary development of a

species. It means that all life descended from other life, although features may have
changed dramatically along the way. Organic evolution involves modifications to
existing species, not the development of new ones. Charles Darwin came up with an
explanation of evolution known today as Darwinism. Darwinism explains an organism's
 struggle to exist as well as survival of the fittest and acquired characteristics. J.B.
Lamarck believed organic evolution happened because future generations inherited
specific characteristics and his theories came before Darwinism. Examples of organic
evolution include organs that are different in structure, but perform similar functions.
A dolphin's flippers and a human's arms are examples of organic evolution.
Biogeography suggests that certain species developed characteristics to help them
survive in different parts of the world. One creature's hands, for example, may only be
suitable to the area in which that creature lives and would be useless in another area
of the world. Divergence is the process in which organisms develop new, unique traits
unknown to their ancestors.

This theory states that life originated from nonliving things in a spontaneous manner.
This concept was held by early Greek philosophers like Thales, Anaximander,
Xanophanes, Empedocles, Plato, Aristotle, etc. In ancient Egypt, it was believed that
the mud of the Nile could give rise to frogs, toads, snakes, mice and even crocodiles
when warmed by the sun.

Van Helmont (1577-1644) held that human sweat and wheat grains could give rise to
organisms. He placed a dirty shirt in a receptacle containing wheat bran and found
that after 21 days the gases from the shirt and wheat had formed living mice. These
beliefs have no scientific grounds and hence are discarded.

Evidences against the Theory of Spontaneous Generation: The theory of sponta-neous

generation was disproved by many scientists of 17th, 18th and 19th centuries. They
proved that new organisms can be formed from pre-existing ones, i.e., omnis vivum
ex ovo or vivo (‘Biogenesis’ of Harvey—1651 and Т. H. Huxley—1870). Noted scientists
who experimentally challenged the theory were Francesco Redi (1626-1697), Lazzaro
Spallanzani (1729-1799) and Louis Pasteur (1822-1895).

4. BIOGENESIS THEORY

Theory of biogenesis (i.e. life from life, omnis vivum ex. vivo) was proved by Redi,
Spallanzani and Pasteur independently. They disproved (refuted) theory of
spontaneous generation (abiogenesis). Francesco Redi (1668) proved that flies could
not arise from putrefying meat without their eggs. Spallanzani (1767) demonstrated
that putrefaction of meat is due to microbes in the air and it can be prevented by
boiling and sealing the meat in air tight containers. Pasteur gave a definite proof of
life arising from pre-existing life using microbes and sterilization methods.

Redi’s Experiment: Francesco Redi, an Italian physician, took the flesh and cooked it
so that no organisms were left alive. Then he placed flesh in three jars, of which, one
was uncovered, the second was covered with parchment and the third one was
covered with fine muslin. He kept these jars for a few days and observed that
mag-gots developed only in the uncovered jar though the flies also visited other jars.

Spallanzani’s Experiment: Spallanzani (1765), an Italian scientist disproved the

spontaneous generation of micro-organisms. He experimented that animal and
vegetable broths boiled for several hours and soon after sealed, were never infested
with microorganisms. From this ex-periment he concluded that high temperature had
killed all living organisms in the broths and with-out them life could not appear. When
the broths were left exposed to air, were soon invaded by microorganisms.
5. OPARIN’S THEORY

1. Alexander I. Oparin (1894 - 1980), a Russian biochemist, and J.B.S. Haldane (1892 -
1964), a British scientist, put forward the concept that the first living organism evolved
from non-living material. They also suggested that the sequence of events that might
have occurred. In 1923, Oparin postulated that life originated on Earth at some point
of time in the remote past, and under the conditions no longer observed. In his book,
The Origin of Life (1938), Oparin submitted abiogenesis first, but biogenesis ever since.
Oparin's theory is known as primary abiogenesis.

2. According to Oparin and Haldane (1929), spontaneous generation of early

molecules might have taken place if the earth once had more reducing atmosphere
compared to the present oxidizing atmosphere. Oparin and Haldane agreed that the
primeval Earth contained little, if at all, oxygen. Perhaps, in the primitive atmosphere
oxygen in the free gaseous state was virtually absent. Therefore, no degradation of
any organic compound arising in the primeval Earth could have taken place.

3. As there was no ozone layer in the atmosphere any absorption of UV radiations that
is lethal to our present lives was possible in the primordial Earth.

4. The early gas cloud was rich in hydrogen, being present in the form of methane
(CH4), ammonia (NH3) and water (H20).

5. Moreover, the atmospheric water vapor condensed into drops of water and fell as
rain that rolled down the rock surfaces and accumulated to form liquid pools and
oceans. In the process, erosion of rocks and washing of minerals (e.g., chlorides and
phosphates) into the oceans were inevitable.
Thus, Haldane is hot dilute soup was produced and the stage was set for combination
of various chemical elements.

6. Atmospheric chemicals and those in water produced small precursor molecules,

like amino acids, sugars, nitrogenous bases etc. These precursor molecules then
combined resulting in the appearance of proteins, polysaccharides and nucleic
acids.

7. The energy sources for such reactions of organic synthesis were the UV radiations
(solar radiation), cosmic rays, electrical discharges (lightning), intense dry, heat
(volcanic eruption) and radioactive decay of various

Elements on the Earth's Surface. Once formed, the organic molecules accumulated
in water because their degradation was extremely slow in the -absence of any life or
enzyme catalysts such transformation is not possible in the present oxidizing
atmosphere because oxygen or microorganisms will decompose or destroy the living
particle that may arise by mere chance.

6. COACERVATION THEORY

Coacervation, also called phase separation, was the technique developed in the
1950s by National Cash Register Co.

Coacervation involves the separation of a liquid phase of coating material from a

polymeric solution and wrapping of that phase as a uniform layer around suspended
 core particles. Coacervation may be brought about when the surface energies of
the core material and coating material are adjusted varying some parameter of the
system such as temperature, pH, or composition, for example. The coating material is
then solidified by means of heat, cross- linking, or solvent removal techniques (Bakan,
1973).

The microcapsules are usually collected by filtration or centrifugation, washed with

an appropriate solvent, and subsequently dried by standard techniques such as spray
drying or fluidised bed drying to yield free-flowing, discrete particles.

Simple coacervation deals with systems containing only one colloidal solute (e.g.,
only gelatine), while complex coacervation deals with systems containing more than
one solute (e.g., gelatine and gum acacia) (Luzzi and Gerraughty, 1964.).

Coacervation may also be subdivided into aqueous phase separation and

nonaqueous phase separation techniques.

Aqueous phase separation - which has been used to encapsulate citrus oil, vegetable
oils, and vitamin A - requires a hydrophilic coating, such as gelatine or gelatine-gum
acacia, and water- insoluble core particles. The resulting microcapsules may contain
payloads of 85-90% and can release their contends by pressure, hot water or
chemical reaction.

In nonaqueous phase separation, the coating is usually hydrophobic and the core
may be water-soluble or water immiscible. This process has been investigated for the
encapsulation of solid food additives such as ferrous sulphate (Balassa and Fanger,
1971).
Coacervation is a very efficient but expensive process.

7. J. B. S. HALDANE’S HYPOTHESIS

Oparin suggested that the organic compounds could have undergone a series of
reactions leading to more and more complex molecules. He proposed that the
molecules formed colloid aggregates, or 'coacervates', in an aqueous environment.
The coacervates were able to absorb and assimilate organic compounds from the
environment in a way reminiscent of metabolism. They would have taken part in
evolutionary processes, eventually leading to the first lifeforms.

Haldane's ideas about the origin of life were very similar to Oparin's. Haldane
proposed that the primordial sea served as a vast chemical laboratory powered by
solar energy. The atmosphere was oxygen free, and the combination of carbon
dioxide, ammonia and ultraviolet radiation gave rise to a host of organic compounds.
The sea became a 'hot dilute soup' containing large populations of organic
monomers and polymers. Haldane envisaged that groups of monomers and polymers
aquired lipid membranes, and that further developments eventually led to the first
living cells.

Haldane coined the term 'prebiotic soup', and this became a powerful symbol of the
Oparin-Haldane view of the origin of life.

8. UREY – MILLER HYPOTHESIS

 Harold C.Urey- (1893 -1981), an astronomer, accorded the first adequate recognition
of Oparin-Haldane's view on the origin of life in 1952. Urey asked his student Stanley L.
Miller, a biochemist, to replicate the primordial atmosphere- as propounded by
Oparin and Haldane. Miller (1953) made the first successful simulation experiment to
assess the validity of the claim for origin of organic molecules in the primeval Earth
condition.

1. Miller sealed in a spark chamber a mixture of water (H2O), methane (CH4),

ammonia (NH3) and hydrogen gas (H2). He made arrangement for insertion of
two electrodes to provide electrical energy (simulation of lightning) to the spark
chamber. CH4, NH3, H2 were in 2: 1: 2 ratio. Electric sparks of 75,000 volt was
provided to the mixture.

2. The spark chamber was connected to another flask with arrangement for boiling
water (provision for evaporation). The other end of the spark chamber was
connected to a trap by a tube that passed through a condenser (an
arrangement for condensation and collection of aqueous solution, equivalent to
rain and Haldane's soup). The trap, in turn, was connected with the flask for boiling
water (arrangement for circulation).

3. The control apparatus contained every arrangement except that it was devoid of
energy source.

4. After eighteen days, significant amount of the simple organic compounds

(monomers), such as amino acids and peptide chains, began to appear in the
aqueous sample of the experimental set. Amino acids found were alanine, glycine
and aspartic acid. Therefore, the obvious inference was that abiotic synthesis of
organic monomers occurred in the simulated experimental condition. By analogy,
such synthesis could have occurred in the primitive atmospheric condition. Later
on many scientists repeated Miller's experiment using slightly different starting
materials and UV radiation or other energy sources. All of them could successfully
synthesize amino acid and related compounds. With hydrogen cyanide (HCN)
even adenine and other nitrogen bases were produced.

9. FOSSILS

10. GEOLOGIC TIME SCALE