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[[File:Phylogenetic.png|332x332px|'''Figure 1'''. The traditional stepped view of the ''tree of life''.|alt=Phylogenetic Tree|thumb]]'''''We are all more closely related than you may think.''''' | [[File:Phylogenetic.png|332x332px|'''Figure 1'''. The traditional stepped view of the ''tree of life''.|alt=Phylogenetic Tree|thumb]]'''''We are all more closely related than you may think.''''' | ||
Historically, the development of life has always been portrayed in distinct, stepped stages. Life starts at the ''Root ('''Figure 1''')'' and through time, evolution irons out the kinks, ultimately | Historically, the development of life has always been portrayed in distinct, stepped stages. Life starts at the ''Root ('''Figure 1''')'' and through time, evolution irons out the kinks, ultimately making us, the most complex forms of life on the planet. But this has always left an important question, ''where did the '''Root''' come from?'' | ||
Life is thought to have started from simple inorganic molecules ('''See big image below''') <ref>'''Evidence for early life in Earth's oldest hydrothermal vent precipitates.''' Dodd, Matthew S.; Papineau, Dominic; Grenne, Tor; Slack, John F.; Rittner, Martin; Pirajno, Franco; O'Neil, Jonathan; Little, Crispin T.S. (1 March 2017). . ''Nature''. '''543''' (7643): 60–64. Bibcode:2017Natur.543...60D. doi:10.1038/nature21377. <nowiki>PMID 28252057</nowiki>. Archived from the original on 8 September 2017. Retrieved 2 March 2017 via https://www.nature.com/articles/nature21377?source=post_page---------------------------.</ref><ref>'''Crucial steps to life: From chemical reactions to code using agents'''. ''BioSystems''. '''140''': 49–57. Witzany, Guenther (2016). doi:10.1016/j.biosystems.2015.12.007. <nowiki>PMID 26723230</nowiki>. Accessed via: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0303264715002063</ref> and evolved in increasing complexity. Smaller particles combined to make larger more complex molecules which at some point gained the ability to replicate themselves. | Life is thought to have started from simple inorganic molecules ('''See big image below''') <ref>'''Evidence for early life in Earth's oldest hydrothermal vent precipitates.''' Dodd, Matthew S.; Papineau, Dominic; Grenne, Tor; Slack, John F.; Rittner, Martin; Pirajno, Franco; O'Neil, Jonathan; Little, Crispin T.S. (1 March 2017). . ''Nature''. '''543''' (7643): 60–64. Bibcode:2017Natur.543...60D. doi:10.1038/nature21377. <nowiki>PMID 28252057</nowiki>. Archived from the original on 8 September 2017. Retrieved 2 March 2017 via https://www.nature.com/articles/nature21377?source=post_page---------------------------.</ref><ref>'''Crucial steps to life: From chemical reactions to code using agents'''. ''BioSystems''. '''140''': 49–57. Witzany, Guenther (2016). doi:10.1016/j.biosystems.2015.12.007. <nowiki>PMID 26723230</nowiki>. Accessed via: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0303264715002063</ref> and evolved in increasing complexity. Smaller particles combined to make larger more complex molecules which at some point gained the ability to replicate themselves. | ||
This first self replicating unit was called "''the replicant''" as it was the first entity on earth which could replicate itself using a type of source code called DNA. However, even though the replication mechanisms were near perfect, every billion replications an error occurred, which in turn, made a new form of replicant. This process then repeated a zillion times over [[Long collective history|billion years]] until...us. | This first self-replicating unit was called "''the replicant''" as it was the first entity on earth which could replicate itself using a type of source code called DNA. However, even though the replication mechanisms were near perfect, every billion replications an error occurred, which in turn, made a new form of replicant. This process then repeated a zillion times over [[Long collective history|billion years]] until...us. | ||
<div class="res-img">[[File:Inorganic life.jpg|alt=Biomolecular pathway|center|Figure 1. Poop]] | <div class="res-img">[[File:Inorganic life.jpg|alt=Biomolecular pathway|center|Figure 1. Poop]] | ||
Revision as of 02:16, 15 September 2022
We are all more closely related than you may think.
Historically, the development of life has always been portrayed in distinct, stepped stages. Life starts at the Root (Figure 1) and through time, evolution irons out the kinks, ultimately making us, the most complex forms of life on the planet. But this has always left an important question, where did the Root come from?
Life is thought to have started from simple inorganic molecules (See big image below) [1][2] and evolved in increasing complexity. Smaller particles combined to make larger more complex molecules which at some point gained the ability to replicate themselves.
This first self-replicating unit was called "the replicant" as it was the first entity on earth which could replicate itself using a type of source code called DNA. However, even though the replication mechanisms were near perfect, every billion replications an error occurred, which in turn, made a new form of replicant. This process then repeated a zillion times over billion years until...us.
This process is called abiogenesis. Whilst the traditional stepped classification (see Figure 1) is useful to scientists, as it makes digestible chunks to interpret, in the real world the process is much more fluid[3] more like the roots of a tree branching out. The key takeaway is that although many branches are produced it is still the same superorganism, as shown below.
We are all more closely related than you think, as all life, in short, is DNA travelling through time!
Further reading
- The Selfish Gene - Dawkins, Richard, 1941. Oxford ; New York :Oxford University Press, 1989. ISBN: 978-0198788607
References
- ↑ Evidence for early life in Earth's oldest hydrothermal vent precipitates. Dodd, Matthew S.; Papineau, Dominic; Grenne, Tor; Slack, John F.; Rittner, Martin; Pirajno, Franco; O'Neil, Jonathan; Little, Crispin T.S. (1 March 2017). . Nature. 543 (7643): 60–64. Bibcode:2017Natur.543...60D. doi:10.1038/nature21377. PMID 28252057. Archived from the original on 8 September 2017. Retrieved 2 March 2017 via https://www.nature.com/articles/nature21377?source=post_page---------------------------.
- ↑ Crucial steps to life: From chemical reactions to code using agents. BioSystems. 140: 49–57. Witzany, Guenther (2016). doi:10.1016/j.biosystems.2015.12.007. PMID 26723230. Accessed via: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0303264715002063
- ↑ Taxonomic boundary paradox as described by: Taxonomy versus evolution: János Podani Department of Plant Taxonomy and Ecology, Biological Institute, Eötvös University, Pázmány P. s. 1/c, 1117 Budapest, Hungary. TA XON 58 (4) • Published November 2009: 1049–1053. Accessed on 3 July 2022 via: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/tax.584001