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Indoor CO2 levels can significantly impact cognitive function and health. High CO2 levels in enclosed spaces, like airplanes and hotels, can lead to decreased cognitive performance and physical discomfort.

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 narrative around carbon being inherently bad is misleading, as carbon is essential to life and the planet's ecosystem.

There is more greenery on Earth now than in the past 20 years, partly due to increased carbon dioxide levels.

The push for global cooling and reducing CO2 levels could be detrimental to human life, as historically higher CO2 levels supported lush ecosystems.

Nick Lane explains that protocells in hydrothermal vents could self-organize and grow by deterministic chemistry, leading to early forms of heredity. This sets the stage for more complex life forms.

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.