Theoretical origin of life: using an enzyme (Introduction)

by David Turell , Wednesday, September 23, 2015, 20:18 (3349 days ago) @ David Turell

By using a living enzyme scientists can create molecules useful in life, but this in no way tells us how life began:-http://phys.org/news/2015-09-synthesis-method-imitates-molecules-dawn.html-"Researchers from the Institute for Advanced Chemistry of Catalonia (IQAC-CSIC), with support from the Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Service of the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB) have developed a method for synthesising organic molecules very selectively, by assembling simple molecules and using an enzyme from E. coli (FSA: D-fructose-6-phosphate aldolase), which acts as a biocatalyst. -"This is a significant step forward since it replicates the formation of carbohydrates in conditions resembling those that presumably initiated life on the Earth (prebiotic conditions) and because it allows relatively large organic molecules to be obtained very selectively and efficiently. -***-"The enzyme FSA was discovered in 2001 and its physiological function in E. coli is still unknown. It is thought to be an ancestral enzyme, and that it is active before a broad range of compounds. What surprised the researchers is that it is a very malleable enzyme, much more so than others. As a result, with only a small number of genetic mutations in the enzyme, its catalytic capacity can be modulated and increased significantly. This is what allows the enzyme to be carefully adapted in order to synthesise several molecules at will.-"The metabolism of carbohydrates in living organisms is a complex process, forged over millions of years of evolution. It is no easy task to carry out these processes in a flask, whether by assembling the enzymes involved in the process or by manipulating the metabolic pathways of living organisms. Nor is it simple to obtain carbohydrates with conventional chemical methods, which require several stages and the use of organic solvents.
" (my bold)-Comment: If first life had enzymes, very large molecules, how did they arise? So far in the lab e only get life from life.