How did the first single cell life form get started?

J

Joeman

Eviiiiiiiil Clown
Registered Senior Member
I don't think anyone was able to assemble a single cell lifeform from a bunch of protein. I wonder how it was formed in the first place. Some people say it's impossible because according to the 2nd law of thermal dynamics, you cannot create order from disorder; therefore supernatural or God must have been involved.
 
Still...it's hard to believe.

It takes energy conversion to transform disorder into order. A single cell organism is still an extrememly complex machine. What's the probability of a bunch of different protein elements just randomly collide and form life inself with the aids of wind and lightning and water current? If it's possible, we could have discovered it in the lab already.
 
What are the chances of it not happening? Slim to none IMO.
Simple DNA, RNA, & proteins are bound to appear due to normal chemical reactions where the requisite ingredients & conditions occur. These molecules replicate themselves inherently. As the process of replication continues, they get more complicated, & eventually you have life.
 
Errrm, *I heard* that the original conditions in which this spontaneous process occured were different than today (stronger UV, no oxygen in the atmosphere, ...), this is why we cannot "discover it in the lab" how the first cell came to be.

Anyone bring more about this?
 
jrc said:
You may find this interesting, in view of Alphas Link.
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How so?
BTW, that article is a couple years old, and slightly outdated. For example, it says speciation has not been observed. Since then, it has been. I would recommend the talkorigins site over that SciAm article, as it's more up-to-date.
 
Joeman said:
Still...it's hard to believe.

It takes energy conversion to transform disorder into order. A single cell organism is still an extrememly complex machine. What's the probability of a bunch of different protein elements just randomly collide and form life inself with the aids of wind and lightning and water current? If it's possible, we could have discovered it in the lab already.
Click to expand...

It doesn't really happen at random. Your own cells are also not made by letting things combine at random. Still a single cell is hugely complex. Yet cells are formed in their billions every day.
 
jrc said:
Well, at most Alpha..
It was an interesting read..
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Yes, I just thought it was going to be something contrary to the content in the link I gave, or something, because you said it was interesting "in view of Alphas link".
 
Sorry Alpha. Their was no to the contrary intended. I meant that Alphas link is interesting and thought some may find this interesting to. 'My contribution to the topic under discussion..
 
I was just told that a whole bunch of molecules arranged perfectly to create an early version of a cell and it is physically possible.

No one really knows how any life was created, we are stuck to theories.
 
What's the probability of a bunch of different protein elements just randomly collide and form life inself with the aids of wind and lightning and water current?
Click to expand...
probability is low, but considering the size of the universe and the enormous expanse of time for this probability to work itself out... it had to happen someplace, sometime, right? :D

No one really knows how any life was created, we are stuck to theories.
Click to expand...
i was under the impression that no one really ever knows how anything works, and all we ever have is theories.
 
What's the probability of a bunch of different protein elements just randomly collide and form life inself with the aids of wind and lightning and water current?
Click to expand...
Because that's not how it happened!
Chemicals and proteins didn't just 'collide', and 'poof', out come a complex single cell.

Proto-life was formed first (a self-replicator). Over time, it became more complex, until it became what we know as 'life'.
Here's a good web page about abiogenesis and probability.
http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/abioprob/abioprob.html

Creationist idea of abiog. = Chemicals ----> Bacteria.
Real idea = Chemicals ----> Polymers ---> Replicating polymers ---> Hypercycle ----> Protobiont ----> Bacteria (this has been simplified!)
 
spuriousmonkey said:
It doesn't really happen at random. Your own cells are also not made by letting things combine at random. Still a single cell is hugely complex. Yet cells are formed in their billions every day.
Click to expand...

The templates for the first cell probably DID arise at random.
 
Q. If it turned out that 'Nature' and I use the word lightly, had been responsible for the (intelligent) design of the first Cell to display all the signs of life, would this be considered as (Creationism) and would Nature itself be seen as a God?

Ie. Contuse design by nature as apposed to random events.

Remember! Its just a Q.
 
Crazy stuff can happen over billions of years. Unfortunately, we haven't that long to test stuff out in labs.

My guess is the vast span of time allowed the unlikely to happen. Or possibly it happened elsewhere and was brought by a celestial object.
 
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