Origin of life emerged from cell membrane bioenergetics [View all]

[DavidDvorkin]

A coherent pathway which starts from no more than rocks, water and carbon dioxide and leads to the emergence of the strange bio-energetic properties of living cells, has been traced for the first time in a major hypothesis paper in Cell this week.

At the origin of life the first protocells must have needed a vast amount of energy to drive their metabolism and replication, as enzymes that catalyse very specific reactions were yet to evolve. Most energy flux must have simply dissipated without use.

So where did it all that energy come from on the early Earth, and how did it get focused into driving the organic chemistry required for life?

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-12/ucl-ool121912.php



This should be the biggest news item of the day.