Did life evolve in a deep freeze?

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Permalink Reply by PaleoAnthroEvo on October 15, 2011 at 9:26am

I definitely enjoy reading about the possible environments of the Hadean and Archean time periods. Global glaciations are known for several milestones in the evolution of life, so it doesn't surprise me that somehow life could have arose in ice.

I believe i watched a documentary on the possibilities of life living in ice, and it linked all the way back to the first existence of the beginning molecules of life. Eventually they applied it to the possibility of life coming about and existing on the frozen moon Europa, i found that quite intriguing. It seems like the arrival of life is getting less and less uncommon because life quite possibly can arise in an incredible range of temperatures and environments. 

 

Permalink Reply by Chris Dodds on October 15, 2011 at 10:15pm

Well put.  And to Marc Draco, this is only one theory on how life first appeared on Earth, and the only rebuttal I can say is read the article, it makes a very convincing case.

Permalink Reply by Marc Draco on October 15, 2011 at 5:00pm

I doubt life began in ice because life requires energy (and there's not much energy in a piece of ice). The first lifeforms probably arose in hot water pools; indeed, the ancestors of those creatures are still here today as I recall. A variation (loathed by marine fishkeepers) is cyanobacteria  which is believed to be the first life-form to be able to harness the sun's energy directly. The Wikipedia article is quite interesting.

Permalink Reply by Anthony bruno on October 16, 2011 at 6:20pm

yea, miller was successful with a sample he put in the freezer for years

 

"Other research suggests a colder start to life. Work by Leslie Orgel and colleagues on the synthesis of purines has shown that freezing temperatures are advantageous, due to the concentrating effect for key precursors such as hydrogen cyanide.^[26] Research by Stanley Miller and colleagues suggested that while adenine and guanine require freezing conditions for synthesis, cytosine and uracil may require boiling temperatures.^[27] Based on this research, Miller suggested a beginning of life involving freezing conditions and exploding meteorites."

 

Louis J. Allamandola did similar experiment

 

but most researchers would say that it contributed to early inventory of organic molecules, though it is doubt for live happened under those conditions