PortalsOS

The origin of life might be linked to deep-sea hydrothermal vents, where mineralized sponges with cell-like pores could have facilitated the formation of life by providing a structured environment for chemical reactions.

Nick Lane discusses how uniparental inheritance of mitochondria increases genetic variance between cells, allowing natural selection to favor those with fewer mutations.

The introduction of RNA into protocells allows for evolvability, enabling life to resist environmental constraints and evolve into more complex forms.

Nick Lane argues that life on other planets is likely to be carbon-based and water-dependent due to the commonality of these elements. He suggests that out of a thousand planets with life, 999 might follow this pattern, with only one being radically different.

The Earth acts like a giant battery, producing little living cell mini-batteries through hydrothermal vents. This fascinating theory suggests that the structure of cells mirrors the Earth's own structure, with electrons inside and a relatively oxidized outside.

The continuity between geological environments and cells suggests that life forms are continuous with Earth's geochemistry, challenging the idea of a 'Frankenstein moment' where life suddenly zaps into existence.

The fundamental bottleneck in the evolution of life is not the transition from geochemistry to early life, but rather the development from nucleotides to RNA, DNA, and ribosomes. This suggests that early life forms could be common, but complex life is less so.