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The origin of life--did it occur at high temperatures
| Content Provider | NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS) |
|---|---|
| Author | Lazcano, Antonio Miller, Stanley L. |
| Copyright Year | 1995 |
| Description | A high-temperature origin of life has been proposed, largely for the reason that the hyperthermophiles are claimed to be the last common ancestor of modern organisms. Even if they are the oldest extant organisms, which is in dispute, their existence can say nothing about the temperatures of the origin of life, the RNA world, and organisms preceding the hyperthermophiles. There is no geological evidence for the physical setting of the origin of life because there are no unmetamorphosed rocks from that period. Prebiotic chemistry points to a low-temperature origin because most biochemicals decompose rather rapidly at temperatures of 100 C (e.g., half-lives are 73 min for ribose, 21 days for cytosine, and 204 days for adenine). Hyperthermophiles may appear at the base of some phylogenetic trees because they outcompeted the mesophiles when they adapted to lower temperatures, possibly due to enhanced production of heat-shock proteins. |
| File Size | 369017 |
| Page Count | 4 |
| File Format | |
| Alternate Webpage(s) | http://archive.org/details/NASA_NTRS_Archive_19980211388 |
| Archival Resource Key | ark:/13960/t75t8k210 |
| Language | English |
| Publisher Date | 1995-01-01 |
| Access Restriction | Open |
| Subject Keyword | Geology Biological Evolution Mesophiles Decomposition Organisms Biochemistry High Temperature Proteins Pyrimidines Ribonucleic Acids Ribose Thermal Shock Rocks Half Life Ntrs Nasa Technical Reports Server (ntrs) Nasa Technical Reports Server Aerodynamics Aircraft Aerospace Engineering Aerospace Aeronautic Space Science |
| Content Type | Text |
| Resource Type | Article |
