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Where did it come from? How do scientists pursue the earliest evidence of life?
In the nearly 4.5 billion-year history of the earth, the origin and evolution of life have always triggered heated debate and exploration among scientists. How did life emerge in such a unique and complex environment? Scientists are trying to piece together the story of life's first emergence by examining ancient rocks and microbial fossils.
The earliest life forms were likely tiny, almost featureless creatures.
The Earth was formed about 4.5 billion years ago. According to current evidence, the first life may have emerged 3.7 billion years ago. For the earliest evidence of life, some of the oldest fossils come from the 370-million-year-old Metarock of Grenada, giving scientists a glimpse into what early microorganisms might have looked like. In 2015, possible "relics of biological life" were discovered in 410-million-year-old rocks in Western Australia, further challenging our understanding of the origins of life.
However, these early fossils are not without controversy. Some scientists argue that the chemical signatures of these fossils may have resulted from abiotic processes. This issue encourages more researchers to reshuffle early biology. In the process of research, the various data collected were still unable to clearly analyze the original generating factors of life.
Scientists are still exploring the origin of life and have proposed various theories.
In the process of pursuing the origin of life, scientists have proposed several major hypotheses. First, the theory about the RNA world holds that early life forms may have been based on RNA and then evolved into DNA and proteins. This RNA molecule, similar to that of early cells, has the ability to replicate itself and may have paved the way for the development of life.
Secondly, the membrane priority theory proposes that the formation of lipid vesicles may be the key to the birth of life. These foams have the ability to encapsulate biological molecules, making them the precursors of early cells. The clay hypothesis indicates that the crystal structure of certain minerals may have promoted the formation of RNA, providing favorable conditions for the origin of life.
Earth's water and carbon are the basic building blocks of life, providing the platform for its birth.
In addition, scientists also speculate that deep-sea hot springs may be the cradle of life. These hot springs provide the heat and energy needed for chemical reactions, supporting the synthesis of complex molecules. The actual presence of synthetic organic matter and microorganisms in the environment of these hot springs drives further research. All of these theories attempt to answer a fundamental question: How did organic life evolve from inanimate chemicals?
However, to truly answer this question, scientists still face huge challenges. Progress in biology is still limited to preliminary encounters in the theoretical and experimental stages. With the advancement of experimental technology, many theories have begun to be verified, but there are still many details that need to be explored in depth.
The species known to date represent only a small fraction of those that may have existed historically.
Today's scientific community believes that there may be as many as 1 trillion species on earth, but only about 1.75 to 1.8 million species have been named so far, which is just the tip of the iceberg of the entire history of life. This makes people think deeply, how much is still unknown about our understanding of the origin of life?
Ultimately, the truth about the nature, origin and evolution of life may gradually be revealed in future research. Facing the infinite universe and the complex earth ecosystem, scientists’ exploration is endless. We cannot help but ask: Is the origin of life a conscious design or the result of natural random evolution?
