How life arose from inanimate matter is science's greatest mystery. According to a new study,
Primordial broth is a term coined by the Sovietbiologist Alexander Ivanovich Oparin. In 1924, he put forward a theory about the emergence of life on Earth through the transformation, during the gradual chemical evolution of molecules containing carbon, into a primordial soup.
Although there are hundreds of differentamino acids, a basic set of 20 of which can be found in every living organism. Scientists from Johns Hopkins University and Charles University wanted to find out what is so special about them. They recreated the conditions of the early Earth in the laboratory, including a mixture of amino acids that were very common before life appeared.
In their experiments, scientists observed theirkind of natural selection process, even in the absence of life. Ancient organic compounds tended to integrate amino acids into their biochemistry that are best suited for folding proteins into appropriate shapes. This gave them a better chance of survival.
“Protein folding allowed us to observe evolution even before there was life on the planet,” said Stephen Fried, co-author of the study.
According to the authors of the study, this process can explain the mysterious transition between non-living matter and living organisms due to "special" amino acids.
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Cover photo: Vipin Baliga