Re: No Grace Period for Metabolism Either

From: TomHendricks474 (tomhendricks474_at_cs.com)
Date: 10/16/04 

Date: Sat, 16 Oct 2004 20:55:03 +0000 (UTC)

>> I expect that the spot where this first happened had a good environment
>with
>> energy in the 'right' form available to the first replicating molecules.
>>
>> eg: a popular energycarrier nowadays in our cells is ATP.
>> When it looses a Phosphate (ATP--> ADP) energy is available.
>> I expect that on the spot where the first replicating molecules where
>
>> forming, the environment contained similar energy-rich molecules.
>> Most probably NOT ATP of course, but just energyrich molecules ready to
>
>> react and making their energy available to the first replicating molecules.
>
>Good hypothesis. So, in a sense, there WAS a grace period.

No, there was a sun cycle powering and forcing energy on chemicals that
continued to react in novel ways.
Some ways were more stable than others and survived the UV/sun. The more
complex these chemicals got the better they survived - it wasn't to fulfill any
future goal to get to us, it was that they were able to survive that day.
If you want your grace period - then recreat this without a sun cycle. It can't
happen. There was no grace period.

>Here's another sense in which there was a grace period:
>If life were to emerge today, it would probably be quickly gobbled
>up or destroyed by the already existing, more complex life.
>Or, it would have no resources to use because those are
>already being used up by existing, more fully adapted life.
>
>So the grace period was the time when there wasn't enough
>other life around to destroy or starve the newly emerging life.

No - the sun destroyed all replicators the minute
they formed UNLESS they were already stable in that
environment.
I have a saying - your prebiotic replicator can't hide from my sun. The sun was
the only cyclical and yet somewhat variable heat cycle. Thus it was the only
sustainable source of energy. You can't have metabolism built on sunlight AND
hide from the sunlight at the same time.
You are left with a sun/uv powered world that started and forced life at every
step.

 Let's get the order correct.
1. Sun powers chemical reactions, and production of monomers, and some
polymerization etc.
2. Some chemicals survive that by novel means. Some of those suriviving
variants, lead to the first replicator.
3. Then this first replicator - powered as always by the sun - has a planet
wide, forced, everywhere, energy source, metabolism - the sun. And it has this
energy source in an environment it is already 'sun selected' in.
Don't have to call in any fluke, or magic, or wands, or anything else.
>
>Sort of.
>
>And in a way that's the same as what you're saying. Back then,
>before life, there were supplies of energy-rich molecules.
>Today, those would likely be being tapped by existing lifeforms,
>and therefore not be available to newly emerging life.
>--

Again I stress the only order that makes sense of this.
1. sun powered energy
2. as the sun cools chemicals no longer have energy wide
free forced energy and those variants that can switch to alt forms of energy -
chemical energy, are the survivors.
I can see no other path that makes a bit of sense.
Comment
Tom

>Cathy

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