Origins of Life: Biochemical Evolution
Fossilized bacteria inform the scientists the story of how life
may have evolved in the unique environment of primordial
Earth 3.8 billion years ago. Let us find out how life started....
How life evolved?
Now picture this, imagine swimming in a cosy volcanic vent
of searing heat. Ammonia and methane swirl like a cosmic
bowl of soup. Steam rises from the water into the thick
chemical atmosphere. Suddenly, a bolt of lightning strikes
the sky. The ammonia and methane combine just at the
water's surface and is fed by the heat from below. At that
moment something new appears: an amino acid; a protein;
which is a building block for life itself. According to scientific
convention, that's how it happened over 3.8 billion years ago
here on Earth.
Ever since Darwin sailed to the Galapagos and wrote his first
theories of evolution, scientists have been trying to find the
origins of life. Humans have been trying to find this very
thing long before Darwin ever hypothesized that human
beings evolved- as all animals did from organic compounds.
But in recent years more evidence has been found through
evolving technology and research. Science and mankind have
been provided with some new answers about an old problem.
If we did evolve from simple compounds in a complex
environment, then how did it happen?
Scientists currently believe that planet Earth formed around
4.5 billion years ago after the "Big Bang" created our
universe. Then, sometime around 3.8 billion years ago, the
first rock formations began to appear, and microorganisms
known as arch bacteria developed. Around 7 billion years in
between, life began as a result of a specific set of necessary
elements, and random chance.
Beginnings of Biochemical Evolution
We know that the so-called "primordial soup" of our world
was made up of lots of water on the surface, and great
quantities of methane and ammonia in the atmosphere.
Below the surface of the water, volcanoes were continuously
erupting and underwater land masses were being created.
These land masses eventually rose to the "surface".
The volcanoes were also creating a lot of heat and steam. A
great storm of chemical activity in the skies of that
primordial Earth was also getting added to the heat and
steam mixture. The movements of Earth, sky, and chemicals
resulted in electrical storms. Based on recent studies in
microbiology, biochemistry, and chemical palaeontology,
scientists believe that either electrical activity or a catalytic
metallic ion was created which led to the creation of amino
acids.
Amino acids are the simplest forms of an organic compound.
They are also proteins. DNA and RNA derive from the
successful building of protein. Once DNA and RNA begin to
build upon themselves, complex organic materials are
created including living cells such as bacteria, and amoebas.
By 3.5 billion years ago cyan bacteria had developed.
Around 2.2 billion years ago, photosynthetic bacteria had
utilized enough chlorophyll and emitted "waste" to create an
oxygen rich atmosphere. It was approximately 2 billion years
ago when bacteria developed into eukaryotes which were
regarded as the first complex living cells. Many of the
ancient water-bearing bacterium can still be seen today in the
fossilized mounds called as stromatolites along different
beaches around the world. These stromatolites are serving
as a great evidence that scientists are using to investigate
the era of the primordial soup. At first, scientists did not
realize that these mounds were in fact fossilized bacteria.
The Contribution of Bacteria
Bacteria are found in all shapes, sizes, and conditions.
Bacteria can thrive in just about any environmental condition
right from extreme heat to extreme cold. As a result,
scientists have been exploring the Arctic and Antarctica to
find clues to Earth's bacterial past. Bacteria fossils as well
as young living bacteria have been found hidden in these
harsh places. Scientists have also found bacterial fossils in
salt beds that are hidden elow the Earth's surface.
With the sedimentary layering of Earth over time, crystals are
formed when moisture is trapped. Scientists found ancient
Bacillum bacteria in salt crystals that were found in the New
Mexico desert. The samples were revived and new spores
were produced after millions of years of imposed hibernation
in salt crystal. The estimate for this particular sample is 256
million years old. The discovery takes us one step closer to
the study of the elements and events that spawned life on
our world 4 billion years ago.
In the end, we may never know what exactly happened in
that ammonia and methane filled world of chemical storms
and volcanic heat. But with each day of new inventions,
technological advances in biochemistry, we will learn more:
more about our world; and ourselves.
Fossilized bacteria inform the scientists the story of how life
may have evolved in the unique environment of primordial
Earth 3.8 billion years ago. Let us find out how life started....
How life evolved?
Now picture this, imagine swimming in a cosy volcanic vent
of searing heat. Ammonia and methane swirl like a cosmic
bowl of soup. Steam rises from the water into the thick
chemical atmosphere. Suddenly, a bolt of lightning strikes
the sky. The ammonia and methane combine just at the
water's surface and is fed by the heat from below. At that
moment something new appears: an amino acid; a protein;
which is a building block for life itself. According to scientific
convention, that's how it happened over 3.8 billion years ago
here on Earth.
Ever since Darwin sailed to the Galapagos and wrote his first
theories of evolution, scientists have been trying to find the
origins of life. Humans have been trying to find this very
thing long before Darwin ever hypothesized that human
beings evolved- as all animals did from organic compounds.
But in recent years more evidence has been found through
evolving technology and research. Science and mankind have
been provided with some new answers about an old problem.
If we did evolve from simple compounds in a complex
environment, then how did it happen?
Scientists currently believe that planet Earth formed around
4.5 billion years ago after the "Big Bang" created our
universe. Then, sometime around 3.8 billion years ago, the
first rock formations began to appear, and microorganisms
known as arch bacteria developed. Around 7 billion years in
between, life began as a result of a specific set of necessary
elements, and random chance.
Beginnings of Biochemical Evolution
We know that the so-called "primordial soup" of our world
was made up of lots of water on the surface, and great
quantities of methane and ammonia in the atmosphere.
Below the surface of the water, volcanoes were continuously
erupting and underwater land masses were being created.
These land masses eventually rose to the "surface".
The volcanoes were also creating a lot of heat and steam. A
great storm of chemical activity in the skies of that
primordial Earth was also getting added to the heat and
steam mixture. The movements of Earth, sky, and chemicals
resulted in electrical storms. Based on recent studies in
microbiology, biochemistry, and chemical palaeontology,
scientists believe that either electrical activity or a catalytic
metallic ion was created which led to the creation of amino
acids.
Amino acids are the simplest forms of an organic compound.
They are also proteins. DNA and RNA derive from the
successful building of protein. Once DNA and RNA begin to
build upon themselves, complex organic materials are
created including living cells such as bacteria, and amoebas.
By 3.5 billion years ago cyan bacteria had developed.
Around 2.2 billion years ago, photosynthetic bacteria had
utilized enough chlorophyll and emitted "waste" to create an
oxygen rich atmosphere. It was approximately 2 billion years
ago when bacteria developed into eukaryotes which were
regarded as the first complex living cells. Many of the
ancient water-bearing bacterium can still be seen today in the
fossilized mounds called as stromatolites along different
beaches around the world. These stromatolites are serving
as a great evidence that scientists are using to investigate
the era of the primordial soup. At first, scientists did not
realize that these mounds were in fact fossilized bacteria.
The Contribution of Bacteria
Bacteria are found in all shapes, sizes, and conditions.
Bacteria can thrive in just about any environmental condition
right from extreme heat to extreme cold. As a result,
scientists have been exploring the Arctic and Antarctica to
find clues to Earth's bacterial past. Bacteria fossils as well
as young living bacteria have been found hidden in these
harsh places. Scientists have also found bacterial fossils in
salt beds that are hidden elow the Earth's surface.
With the sedimentary layering of Earth over time, crystals are
formed when moisture is trapped. Scientists found ancient
Bacillum bacteria in salt crystals that were found in the New
Mexico desert. The samples were revived and new spores
were produced after millions of years of imposed hibernation
in salt crystal. The estimate for this particular sample is 256
million years old. The discovery takes us one step closer to
the study of the elements and events that spawned life on
our world 4 billion years ago.
In the end, we may never know what exactly happened in
that ammonia and methane filled world of chemical storms
and volcanic heat. But with each day of new inventions,
technological advances in biochemistry, we will learn more:
more about our world; and ourselves.
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