Theoretical origin of life; another lab try (Introduction)

by David Turell , Monday, November 04, 2019, 20:19 (1846 days ago) @ David Turell

With the usual silly result :

https://phys.org/news/2019-11-deep-sea-vents-ideal-conditions.html

By creating protocells in hot, alkaline seawater, a UCL-led research team has added to evidence that the origin of life could have been in deep-sea hydrothermal vents rather than shallow pools.

Previous experiments had failed to foster the formation of protocells—seen as a key stepping stone to the development of cell-based life—in such environments, but the new study, published in Nature Ecology & Evolution, finds that heat and alkalinity might not just be acceptable, but necessary to get life started.

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Scientists researching the origins of life have made great progress with experiments to recreate the early chemical processes in which basic cell formations would have developed. The creation of protocells has been an important step, as they can be seen as the most basic form of a cell, consisting of just a bilayer membrane around an aqueous solution—a cell with a defined boundary and inner compartment.

Previous experiments to create protocells from naturally-occurring simple molecules—specifically, fatty acids—have succeeded in cool, fresh water, but only under very tightly controlled conditions, whereas the protocells have fallen apart in experiments in hydrothermal vent environments.

The study's first author, Dr. Sean Jordan (UCL Genetics, Evolution & Environment), said he and his colleagues identified a flaw in the previous work: "Other experiments had all used a small number of molecule types, mostly with fatty acids of the same size, whereas in natural environments, you would expect to see a wider array of molecules."

For the current study, the research team tried creating protocells with a mixture of different fatty acids and fatty alcohols that had not previously been used.

The researchers found that molecules with longer carbon chains needed heat in order to form themselves into a vesicle (protocell). An alkaline solution helped the fledgling vesicles keep their electric charge. A saltwater environment also proved helpful, as the fat molecules banded together more tightly in a salty fluid, forming more stable vesicles.

For the first time, the researchers succeeded at creating self-assembling protocells in an environment similar to that of hydrothermal vents. They found that the heat, alkalinity and salt did not impede the protocell formation, but actively favoured it.

"In our experiments, we have created one of the essential components of life under conditions that are more reflective of ancient environments than many other laboratory studies," Dr. Jordan said.

"We still don't know where life first formed, but our study shows that you cannot rule out the possibility of deep-sea hydrothermal vents."

Comment: This is a 'tightly controlled' experiment, like all others. The authors do not describe these molecules found in hot deep sea vents. Ignoring Tour's warning. more fun and games wasting grant money in the lab.