Coacervation Theory

The process of coacervation was famously proposed by Alexander Oparin and J. B. S.

Haldane as crucial in his early theory of abiogenesis (origin of life/proiskhozhdenie zhizni). This
theory proposes that metabolism predated information replication, although the discussion as to
whether metabolism or molecules capable of template replication came first in the origins of life
remains open and for decades the theory of Oparin and Haldane was the leading approach to
the origin of life question.

Oparin’s hypothesis is a pioneering chemical evolution theory, proposing that at first, chemical
reactions occured between non-living matters in the earth’s inorganic environment, which produced
organic matter, which in turn went through complex reactions to create complex organic substances.
These complex organic substances then gathered and separated as small drops, and finally, life
forms were formed.

J.B.S. Haldane’s Hypothesis

Haldane speculated about the chemical origin of life on Earth. He proposed that carbon
dioxide, together with ammonia and water vapor, made up the bulk of the Earth's primitive
atmosphere (see Earth, early conditions). His reasoning was that coal came from plants
which, in turn, obtain their carbon from carbon dioxide in the air; therefore, before life came into
being, all the carbon now in coal must have existed as carbon dioxide. Much of
the nitrogen now in the atmosphere, he argued, would have been combined as nitride salts in
the Earth's crust. Water acting on these nitrides would have released ammonia, giving rise to
a reducing atmosphere. Before there were plants to give off oxygen, Haldane pointed out, this
gas would have been absent from the atmosphere. Therefore, there would have been no
protective layer of ozone to block ultraviolet radiation from the Sun. Citing experiments carried
out two years earlier by E. C. C. Baly and his colleagues at Liverpool, Haldane concluded that
the effect of this energetic radiation on the primitive carbon dioxide-ammonia-water vapor
atmosphere would be to give rise to simple organic chemicals, including, probably, amino
acids. These organic compounds would accumulate in the Earth's oceans until they "reached
the consistency of hot, dilute soup." Further chemical synthesis would take place giving rise,
ultimately, to the first primitive organisms which would then feed on the rich, organic nutrients
around them.

Urey-Miller Hypothesis
The Miller-Urey experiment, conducted by chemists Stanley Miller and Harold Urey in 1953, is
the classic experiment on the origin of life. It established that the early Earth atmosphere, as
they pictured it, was capable of producing amino acids, the building blocks of life, from inorganic
substances.
 Fossils: Evidence of Past Life
1. Petrified Fossils: Fossils often form when an organism remains become petrified. In this
process mineral rich water soaks into the small cavities and pores of the original organism.
The minerals precipitate from the water and fill the spaces.
2. Molds and Casts: Molds and casts are made by sediment dissolved with underground
water. It doesn't provide any information about its internal structure
3. Carbon Films: Fossils called carbon films can preserve delicate details of leaves and
animals parts. The formation of a carbon film begins when an organism is buried under fine
sediment.
4. Preserved Remains: Fossilization preserves all or part of an organism with relativity little
change
5. Trace Fossils: Trace fossils are indirect evidence of prehistoric life.
6. Fossil Succession: fossil organisms that succeed one another. Each layer of a fossil can
be examined.
7. Theory of Evolution: Life forms have changed over time, evolved, from simpler to more
complex forms
8. Fossils and Correlation: Geologists today use index fossils and groups pf fossils to
correlate rock layers.
9. Fossils and Past Environments: Fossils can also be used to reconstruct ancient
environments. Fossils provide clues to the characteristics of those environments. Fossils
can also help geologist build an even more detailed picture of the past environment. Fossils
can indicate the former temperature of the water

FOSSILS ARE IMPORTANT FOR US FOR SEVERAL REASONS.

1. THEY ARE THE BASIS FOR THE ORGANIZATION OF THE GEOLOGIC TIME TABLE. The

appearance and disappearance of organisms throughout time is how we divide up the earths history

into different periods.

2. THEY PROVIDE EVIDENCE THAT EVOLUTION IS TAKING PLACE.

3. THEY CAN INFORM US ABOUT WHAT THE ENVIRONMENT WAS LIKE IN THE PAST.

4. THEY HELP US CORRELATE ROCKS.Finally, as we will learn in the next few lessons they

help us correlate rock layers.

 Hypotheses about the origins of life
 The Earth formed roughly 4.54.54, point, 5 billion years ago, and life
probably began between 3.53.53, point, 5 and 3.93.93, point, 9 billion
years ago.

 The Oparin-Haldane hypothesis suggests that life arose gradually

from inorganic molecules, with “building blocks” like amino acids
forming first and then combining to make complex polymers.

 The Miller-Urey experiment provided the first evidence that organic

molecules needed for life could be formed from inorganic components.

 Some scientists support the RNA world hypothesis, which suggests

that the first life was self-replicating RNA. Others favor
the metabolism-first hypothesis, placing metabolic networks before
DNA or RNA.

 Simple organic compounds might have come to early Earth on

meteorites.