"Life emerged in a system of increasing disorganization..."
To assemble a living system we first need the appropriate parts. Fortunately, these
were available on the early Earth. All living systems we know of share a common set
of biological pieces that include a class of chemicals known as proteins. Proteins
are complex carbon-based molecules consisting of smaller building blocks of amino
acids. There are 20 amino acids that differ in their configuration and use of atoms
other than carbon. What is unique about proteins is their ability to store information
and evolve by virtue of feedback systems. Their evolution creates more complex
information-storing molecules. Did these early proteins evolve strictly by chance?
Early Experiments
In 1953 a physicist by the name of Harold Urey conjectured that the atmosphere of
early Earth did not contain the amounts of oxygen gas we see today. He hypothesized
that there was a large amount of hydrogen containing substances such as ammonia,
water, and methane. One of Urey’s graduate students by the name of Stanley Miller
became interested in Urey’s hypothesis and what the effect of repeated exposures to
lightning would be on such a mixture of compounds. He designed an experiment
consisting of a glass enclosure consisting of the above gasses along with
electrodes containing a continuous electric current. What they found was that at the
end of only one week some of the carbon had assembled itself into organic
compounds and a small percentage had formed some of the amino acids. This
occurred not in millennia but in only one week’s time! Could it be that these
substances are part of an overall informational plan of the universe and are bound to
form given these conditions?
Not only can organic substances such as these form under the above conditions
here on Earth, but rudimentary organic compounds are also scattered about the
universe in the interstellar dust. They are said to make up part of the cold matter of
the universe. The seeds of life are indeed everywhere in the universe. Does this
mean that life was meant to exist? And, if so, what is the purpose of its existence?
One of the salient characteristics of life is the ability to capture information. As to how
this is accomplished, we must look at another important molecule in the
development of life, namely RNA.
RNA
RNA has an important function in living cells. It can transfer information from the
nucleus of the cell to small protein factories called ribosomes. These instructions for
making proteins allow the manufacture of essential proteins for use in and out of the
cell. RNA stands for ribonucleic acid. RNA has the ability to represent or “code” the
sequence of amino acids that form proteins. It does the by representing the amino
acid sequence in the form of a sequence of molecules called bases. RNA has 4
distinct bases known as adenosine, guanine, cytosine and uracil. These bases are
capable of matching up with corresponding bases of DNA in a cell and reading the
information to be used in producing proteins.
The bases are thought to have evolved from other organic molecules that have the
characteristic of “capturing” information. These molecules are adenosine
triphosphate (ATP) and its relatives, GTP, CTP, and UTP. The idea that such an
information capturing molecule such as RNA came from energy capturing molecules
such as ATP demonstrate the intimate link between information and energy.
I often speak of ATP to my students as little “balls of energy” that can be used
throughout the body for various biochemical processes and then replenished mainly
by processes that transfer the energy from food substances. Some of these
processes require oxygen and some do not. When oxygen is used, the process is
called aerobic and when not, anaerobic. These processes are likened to the body’s
respiration and are termed cellular respiration.
What goes in is a food substance containing a certain amount of energy in the form
of chemical bonds (remember the electromagnetic force) and oxygen. Then in the
presence of a myriad of other molecules called enzymes, ATP is regenerated with
energy (a phosphate is added to adenosine diphosphate) and carbon dioxide is
produced. The similarity to our human body’s respiration is that we take in oxygen
from the atmosphere which is used to drive these aerobic processes and release
the carbon dioxide that is produced by them. Heat and water are also produced. The
energy balls of ATP can be used throughout the body and can transfer the energy
stored in the phosphate bond to drive many biochemical reactions. When finished,
the phosphate can be added back again in a reaction called phosphoryllation.
ATP can be thought of as an information capturing system as well as an energy
capturing system. Remember that information is all about relationships. The ATP
molecule in the most basic form can be thought of as having two information states.
One with a phosphate (ATP) and one without (ADP). This is somewhat like a digital
bit that has two states; one and zero or on and off.
Some theories of emergence purport that RNA evolved from simpler molecules such
as ATP. This increase in molecular complexity continued to eventually produce DNA.
DNA is the instruction set for the cell. It is truly a wondrous complex molecule and
represents the epitome of information capture in the biological world. DNA contains
all of the information necessary to produce and maintain a living organism. DNA by
far is the most comprehensive information storing molecule that we know of. How
does DNA store all of this information?
We said earlier that RNA contains four molecules called bases. RNA stores
information in the sequence of the 4 bases much like a code. DNA stores information
in much the same way. However, whereby RNA consists of a single strand, DNA is
double stranded with both strands twisting around each other in the famous double
helix arrangement. What holds the two strands together are the bases, one from
each strand connected to each other. This organization is called base pairing and it
is the arrangement of bases again that encodes the information.
To assemble a living system we first need the appropriate parts. Fortunately, these
were available on the early Earth. All living systems we know of share a common set
of biological pieces that include a class of chemicals known as proteins. Proteins
are complex carbon-based molecules consisting of smaller building blocks of amino
acids. There are 20 amino acids that differ in their configuration and use of atoms
other than carbon. What is unique about proteins is their ability to store information
and evolve by virtue of feedback systems. Their evolution creates more complex
information-storing molecules. Did these early proteins evolve strictly by chance?
Early Experiments
In 1953 a physicist by the name of Harold Urey conjectured that the atmosphere of
early Earth did not contain the amounts of oxygen gas we see today. He hypothesized
that there was a large amount of hydrogen containing substances such as ammonia,
water, and methane. One of Urey’s graduate students by the name of Stanley Miller
became interested in Urey’s hypothesis and what the effect of repeated exposures to
lightning would be on such a mixture of compounds. He designed an experiment
consisting of a glass enclosure consisting of the above gasses along with
electrodes containing a continuous electric current. What they found was that at the
end of only one week some of the carbon had assembled itself into organic
compounds and a small percentage had formed some of the amino acids. This
occurred not in millennia but in only one week’s time! Could it be that these
substances are part of an overall informational plan of the universe and are bound to
form given these conditions?
Not only can organic substances such as these form under the above conditions
here on Earth, but rudimentary organic compounds are also scattered about the
universe in the interstellar dust. They are said to make up part of the cold matter of
the universe. The seeds of life are indeed everywhere in the universe. Does this
mean that life was meant to exist? And, if so, what is the purpose of its existence?
One of the salient characteristics of life is the ability to capture information. As to how
this is accomplished, we must look at another important molecule in the
development of life, namely RNA.
RNA
RNA has an important function in living cells. It can transfer information from the
nucleus of the cell to small protein factories called ribosomes. These instructions for
making proteins allow the manufacture of essential proteins for use in and out of the
cell. RNA stands for ribonucleic acid. RNA has the ability to represent or “code” the
sequence of amino acids that form proteins. It does the by representing the amino
acid sequence in the form of a sequence of molecules called bases. RNA has 4
distinct bases known as adenosine, guanine, cytosine and uracil. These bases are
capable of matching up with corresponding bases of DNA in a cell and reading the
information to be used in producing proteins.
The bases are thought to have evolved from other organic molecules that have the
characteristic of “capturing” information. These molecules are adenosine
triphosphate (ATP) and its relatives, GTP, CTP, and UTP. The idea that such an
information capturing molecule such as RNA came from energy capturing molecules
such as ATP demonstrate the intimate link between information and energy.
I often speak of ATP to my students as little “balls of energy” that can be used
throughout the body for various biochemical processes and then replenished mainly
by processes that transfer the energy from food substances. Some of these
processes require oxygen and some do not. When oxygen is used, the process is
called aerobic and when not, anaerobic. These processes are likened to the body’s
respiration and are termed cellular respiration.
What goes in is a food substance containing a certain amount of energy in the form
of chemical bonds (remember the electromagnetic force) and oxygen. Then in the
presence of a myriad of other molecules called enzymes, ATP is regenerated with
energy (a phosphate is added to adenosine diphosphate) and carbon dioxide is
produced. The similarity to our human body’s respiration is that we take in oxygen
from the atmosphere which is used to drive these aerobic processes and release
the carbon dioxide that is produced by them. Heat and water are also produced. The
energy balls of ATP can be used throughout the body and can transfer the energy
stored in the phosphate bond to drive many biochemical reactions. When finished,
the phosphate can be added back again in a reaction called phosphoryllation.
ATP can be thought of as an information capturing system as well as an energy
capturing system. Remember that information is all about relationships. The ATP
molecule in the most basic form can be thought of as having two information states.
One with a phosphate (ATP) and one without (ADP). This is somewhat like a digital
bit that has two states; one and zero or on and off.
Some theories of emergence purport that RNA evolved from simpler molecules such
as ATP. This increase in molecular complexity continued to eventually produce DNA.
DNA is the instruction set for the cell. It is truly a wondrous complex molecule and
represents the epitome of information capture in the biological world. DNA contains
all of the information necessary to produce and maintain a living organism. DNA by
far is the most comprehensive information storing molecule that we know of. How
does DNA store all of this information?
We said earlier that RNA contains four molecules called bases. RNA stores
information in the sequence of the 4 bases much like a code. DNA stores information
in much the same way. However, whereby RNA consists of a single strand, DNA is
double stranded with both strands twisting around each other in the famous double
helix arrangement. What holds the two strands together are the bases, one from
each strand connected to each other. This organization is called base pairing and it
is the arrangement of bases again that encodes the information.
| Dr. Bruce Forciea's New book presents a new paradigm for healing with alternative medicine by using information channels. |
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| Life Emerges |