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(see also Heredity and variability Charles Darwin, in Origin of Species, 1859
New findings are backing up a theory that life originated in ice. If it�s true, it could boost the chances that life might turn up in places considerably colder than our planet. Ice might have been an ideal environment for the first self-replicating molecules. The theory departs from mainstream thinking on the origins of life, which usually assumes a warm, or hot, and wet environment was necessary. Conditions associated with freezing, rather than �warm and wet� conditions, could have been of key importance for the chemical reactions that led to liferef. Ice might have been a favorable environment to generate the first self-replicating molecules, a precondition for life. These molecules would be of a type called ribonucleic acids, or RNA�a chemical cousin of DNA, which makes up genes. Many researchers believe the first self-replicating molecule was RNA, not DNA. This is because RNA can do various things in addition to carrying genetic information, which is all that DNA basically does. Some of RNA�s activities seem to be similar to what would be required for self-replication, something that DNA can�t do, strictly speaking. DNA needs the help of other molecules to copy itself. Also, RNA still exists in living cells, where it has various functions�some so basic to life that many scientists think RNA must have been there from the beginning. The theory that RNA started it all, a 20-year-old proposal called the �RNA world hypothesis,� holds that RNA was not only the first self-replicating molecule, but also that it initially carried out most of life�s functions, such as metabolism and cell formation. Most biologists consider the RNA world hypothesis at least plausible, but it has some problems. It�s not easy to explain how the first self-replicating RNA molecules might have arisen. RNA molecules tend to fall apart under warm conditions outside of cells. This would prevent the buildup of the rather long, complex RNA molecules that would probably be needed to conduct life processes. Various conditions can prevent RNA molecules� breakdown. These include various types of water solutions, and freezing. But freezing may have been the one that most likely occurred on the early Earth. Freezing usually slows down chemical reactions, which is why cold places are generally considered hostile to life. But freezing actually speeds up some of RNA�s key activities. This is because ice contains hard, tiny compartments that hold the molecules in one place, where they can react together. Some of these reactions result in the creation of bigger RNA molecules. In liquid water, by contrast, the molecules don�t come close enough together often enough to react as much. Thus they tend to fall apart faster than they can react to create bigger products. In essence, the small compartments in ice play the role that cells today play in bringing the molecules together to react, Landweber and her colleagues argue. Dehydrated substances�a sort of primordial sludge, for instance�could also have provided a function similar to ice, they added, but ice works better. Landweber�s group conducted an experiment to test the theory. The researchers broke to pieces some RNA molecules found in normal cells. This process yielded more, smaller, RNA molecules. By doing this, the researchers produced RNA molecules of sizes that biologists think might have been available on early Earth. They then experimented to find out what sort of capabilities these smaller RNAs had. The broken-up RNAs still could carry out some of the same functions as normal RNAs, but only in ice or sometimes other extreme conditions, such as dehydration. These activities included grabbing other pieces of RNA and attaching them together, an activity called �ligation� that is similar to self-replication. To fully self-replicate, a molecule must attach other molecules together in such a way as to match the sequence of chemical pieces that characterize the first molecule. This process is called �template-directed� ligation. But the ligation alone�even without the self-replication�can build up ever larger and more complex RNA molecules, which according to the RNA world hypothesis could eventually develop self-replicating abilities. The theory that an icy environment might have helped jump-start life isn�t new. Researchers proposed in 1994, for example, that repeated cycles of freezing and thawing could help accelerate some of the chemical reactions necessary for life. Such a scenario might have existed on early Earth, where according to some researchers, repeated meteor and comet impacts might have periodically melted an otherwise icy environment. However, Landweber and her team seem to be the first to have provided an account of how the �RNA world� might have fit into this scenario. Although freeze-thaw cycles are helpful for the processes they describe, such cycles aren�t strictly necessary in their proposal. Moreover, it is worth noting that Jupiter�s moon Europa and even Mars are also thought to contain large amounts of liquid water and ice now or at some time in the past.� The possibility of RNA activities in ice, lends some credibility to claims that the rather extreme environments of these extraterrestrial locations could have provided suitable conditions for the emergence of life. However, the origin of life and the RNA world aren�t necessarily the same thing. The RNA world as complex self-replicating molecular society could appear at multiple places in Universe, but not necessarily result in the appearance of life as we know it. This transition may actually be rare. I also think that Earth is a possible but not necessarily the best place where the RNA world could start. Rather, I would bet on Europa or a giant comet. If the transition to life as we know it did occur, it could spread across many planets through cross-contamination, carried by comets or meteoritesref (May 25, 2004 issue of the journal Nucleic Acids Research) A remarkable specimen has been discovered of an Early Cretaceous pterosaur that has a tooth embedded in one of its cervical vertebrae: the tooth has been identified as one from a spinosaurid theropod dinosaur. This fossil is direct evidence that spinosaurs included items other than fish in their dietref.
Web resources : Web resources : The Marine Mammal Center
About this site | Site map | Acknowledgements | Current link partners Abbreviations and acronyms | Medical terminology | Add a link | Translate | Softwares | for What is arrangement of organisms into groups taxa on the basis of similarities or relationships?The system of arrangement or organisms in certain groups and subgroups on the basis of certain similarities and dissimilarities is called classification.
What is the arrangement of organisms into taxonomic groups known as taxa )?Scientific classification is a method by which biologists organize living things into groups. It is also called taxonomy. Groups of organisms in taxonomy are called taxa (singular, taxon). You may already be familiar with commonly used taxa, such as the kingdom and species.
What is the system of arranging organisms into groups based on relationships between different organisms?Taxonomy – the classification of organisms into a system that indicates natural relationships (evolutionary relationships); the theory and practice of describing, naming, and classifying organisms.
What is the arrangement of organisms called?Taxonomy in biology is the arrangement of (living) organisms into classification.
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