Some progress being made toward understanding the origins of life

[PhilB]

Some progress being made toward understanding the origins of life:

“Lifeless” molecules found to evolve, adapt
"Lifeless" molecules found to evolve, adapt
In which proteins are found to evolve.

The Truth about Nanobacteria
The Truth about Nanobacteria: Scientific American - StumbleUpon
In which “nano-bacteria” turn out to be proteins that form cell-like membranes and reproduce.

Proteins are assemblages of amino acids, which occur chemically in nature, and have even been found in interstellar dust clouds.

PhilB

[Builtgypsy]

I completely missed this here.

Understanding how such small particles composed of minerals complexed with organic molecules are generated naturally may shed light on the emergence of life on Earth billions of years ago. It is conceivable that by a process of self-replication similar to nanoparticle growth, minerals complexed with small organic molecules formed the first building blocks of life and found a way of perpetuating themselves. Such mineral-organic complexes could have served to shelter and compartmentalize the earliest life-related processes and perhaps could have become the very catalytic centers needed to initiate the life processes themselves. This remains an exciting possibility, which we are currently exploring.

This: very cool.

That such a wide array of calcifications seen in nature and in so many chronic diseases can now be at last understood in the context of molecular interactions between proteins, lipids, minerals and other discrete factors is an exciting prospect. Unlike the nanobacteria hypotheses advocated in the past, current understanding of well-defined naturally occurring mineral-*organic particles will allow scientists to move forward in exploring how these tiny entities can benefit life, even if they are not themselves alive.

This: even better.

Unlike the nanobacteria hypotheses advocated in the past, current understanding...

And that right there: why science is awesome.

[PhilB]

Originally Posted by Builtgypsy

... And that right there: why science is awesome.

It really is interesting that we have now found a range of things that fall in a grey area between living and non-living, from viruses to prions to these "nano-bacteria" lipid-protein complexes, and these various things do exhibit behaviors, and some of those are very much like the behaviors that living things do.

PhilB

[blurr]

yea, they do not know how to cure cancer but somehow, they understand how life was formed, equally as bad as religion.

[Builtgypsy]

Originally Posted by PhilB

It really is interesting that we have now found a range of things that fall in a grey area between living and non-living, from viruses to prions to these "nano-bacteria" lipid-protein complexes, and these various things do exhibit behaviors, and some of those are very much like the behaviors that living things do.

PhilB

It is. It could lead to incredible new avenues of study; just like there's an inherent order in the universe--in the physics we observe every day, to the crazy games atoms and subatomic particles play--there could actually be an inherent process that works to build life in these amino acids. At least carbon-based life. I believe the article mentioned that the rock chunk that came from Mars were embedded with some of these nanobacteria. Now that would be a trip.

In other news on the inter-connectivity of life, I present a snail that steals the genes from algae to produce photosynthesis. What a crazy world.
Sea slug surprise: It?s half-plant, half-animal - LiveScience- msnbc.com

Originally Posted by blurr

yea, they do not know how to cure cancer but somehow, they understand how life was formed, equally as bad as religion.

Oh come on. Science isn't an exact linear process. And they're not saying they know, they're making a hypothesis.

[blurr]

Originally Posted by Builtgypsy

Oh come on. Science isn't an exact linear process. And they're not saying they know, they're making a hypothesis.

[PhilB]

Originally Posted by blurr

yea, they do not know how to cure cancer but somehow, they understand how life was formed, equally as bad as religion.

Why aren't you making any sense?

a) Cancer is a very complex collection of biological problems. There are hundreds of kinds of cancer, and they have different causes and possible cures. Many people are working on many of those problems. That has no direct bearing on the origins of life.

b) We don't understand how life was formed yet. Some people are studying that as well, and these articles were about some advances in the progress of that study.

c) Neither of those has anything to do with religion at all.

PhilB

[Joe]

Originally Posted by blurr

yea, they do not know how to cure cancer but somehow, they understand how life was formed, equally as bad as religion.

The perfect cure for cancer has always existed

[blurr]

Originally Posted by PhilB

Why aren't you making any sense?

a) Cancer is a very complex collection of biological problems. There are hundreds of kinds of cancer, and they have different causes and possible cures. Many people are working on many of those problems. That has no direct bearing on the origins of life.

With the origins of life itself being far more complicated, Cancer is merely an example we can go on all day with what should be relatively simple things they are no closer to figure out, but hey, they show promise, so does the Placebo sometimes.

b) We don't understand how life was formed yet. Some people are studying that as well, and these articles were about some advances in the progress of that study.

Just as in religion, people spend time studying other peoples thoughts.

c) Neither of those has anything to do with religion at all.

PhilB

It does not matter how one gets there, as long as the result is the same

[blurr]

Originally Posted by joe

the perfect cure for cancer has always existed