The Beginning - Life
This Evolution Talk podcast can be listened to on-line at ETP: The Beginning - Life, where it is close to the bottom of the episode list.
Synopsis
- Big Bang over 13 billion years ago
- solar system and earth formed 4.6 billion years ago
- not hospitable - volcanic, little oxygen
- Charles Darwin imagined life beginning in a warm little pond with ammonium and phosphoric salts, plus energy from lightning
- now, thought more likely to have been around hydrothermal vents
- Miller replicated early conditions and produced building blocks of life in the laboratory
- Panspermia is theory that life originated elsewhere and was brought to earth on comets/meteorites
- Directed panspermia means intentional seeding of life, and Crick suggested we might do this ourselves
- meteorite from Murcheson, Victoria found to contain several organic compounds
Further information
Miller Expt info - description [Wikipedia]
Panspermia info - description [Wikipedia]
Murchison meteorite info description [Wikipedia]