The study of how biological life arises from inorganic matter through natural processes, and the method by which life on Earth arose.

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How was the first ribosome theorized to have been made?

Seeing as ribosomes are what help perform the act of translation itself, and the blueprints for they themselves are in nucleotide sequences, how was the first ribosome theorized to have been made? ...
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44 views

What is the difference between abiogenesis and spontaneous generation?

As we all should know, abiogenesis and spontaneous generation are far from identical. For one, spontaneous generation was disproven with Pasteur, and abiogenesis seems to be a solid scientific theory. ...
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82 views

Has any large-scale origin-of-life simulation/experiment been done?

I have been thinking a little about the origins of life, and was further inspired by this question: How did the first self replicating organism come into existence? I can accept that we don't quite ...
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90 views

Why do living organisms replicate itself or procreate

Why do living organisms spontaneously replicate itself or "procreate" (my understanding is that it does). From a uni-cellular and micro-organism point of view. Is there some sort of stimulant in the ...
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70 views

Were there lifeforms before LUCA?

This question got me thinking about something. LUCA is the last universal common ancestor of all current living organisms, which is a very different definition from the first-ever living organism. Is ...
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2answers
82 views

Is it more likely that the very first living organisms had a linear genome?

Is it right to assume that the first living organisms on earth had a linear genome? I base this on the fact that linear macromolecules are clearly much more common in nature that circular ones. To be ...
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151 views

What elements are a possible basis for life?

I've been told that life on earth is carbon-based, Then I got curious about one thing: What are the possible bases for life and under which circumstances could lifr based on other elements exist? If ...
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2answers
133 views

How did the nucleobases in the Murchison meteorite form?

The Murchison meteorite is an important piece of evidence for abiogenesis, because it contained nucleobases from extraterrestrial origin, as this Wikipedia article explains. These results ...
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5answers
1k views

How did the first self replicating organism come into existence?

When people try to explain evolution, they tell me that evolution is a cumulative result of mutations & natural section of the more superior individuals of a particular species. I think I'm fairly ...
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321 views

Why are amino acids in biology homochiral?

Why are nearly all amino acids in organisms left-handed (exception is glycine which has no isomer) when abiotic samples typical have an even mix of left- and right-handed molecules?
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693 views

Can scientists create totally synthetic life?

This particular question has been of a great deal of interest to me, especially since it dives at the heart of abiogenesis.
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179 views

Abiogenesis: Beyond the research journals as a lead in to discussions on evolution

I just came across this abstract: Aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases (aaRSs) are responsible for creating the pool of correctly charged aminoacyl-tRNAs that are necessary for the translation of genetic ...
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Good source that explains the evolution of single-celled organisms “from scratch”

Are there any books or sites that detail, step-by-step, the evolution of the first single-celled organisms (bacteria, archaea) from a Miller-Urey-like beginning? That is, assumes only amino acids, ...