New Extremeophiles: living on electrons (Introduction)

by David Turell , Saturday, December 31, 2016, 15:35 (2672 days ago) @ dhw

David’s comment: Since this form of life is so poorly understood so far, it is hard to predict how these organisms might relate to the origin of life, but they certainly could open up a whole new approach of study. Hopefully they can be grown in larger numbers in labs and studied much more closely.

dhw: Once again, thank you for another fascinating insight into how these more primitive forms of life actually function. The only thing I would add to your comment – a point which relates to the theistic side of my thinking – is the fact that even if these microorganisms do help us to understand the beginnings of life, they do not help us to understand evolution, i.e. the process by which they could ultimately turn into whales, butterflies, weaverbirds and humans.

Thank you. No, they don't help explain evolution, but they do point out that any of the earliest life forms had to have a consistent energy source and the ability to use it. It is possible that these electron chewers are not one of the earliest forms of life, but a side branch developed well after early life began.