BIO 311C Lecture Notes - Lecture 8: Energy Transformation, Endoplasmic Reticulum, Cyclic Adenosine Monophosphate
Document Summary
Characteristics of living organisms: metabolize, reproduce, gas exchange, response to environment. Minimum criteria for something to qualify as living: metabolize, reproduce. Fish evolved into reptiles: animals evolved before reptiles. Earth"s early atmosphere is influenced by volcanic eruptions: n, no, co2, ch4, nh4. Meteorites have over 100 amino acids (also lipids, sugars, nitrogenous bases: could have contributed to new molecules forming on earth when meteorites collided onto earth"s surface. Oparin"s bubble hypothesis: volcanoes erupt in water, releasing gases in bubbles, gases in bubbles react to produce organic molecules. Drop amino acids or nucleic acid monomers onto sand, clay, and hot rocks and polymers were formed. Complexity of life needs protection from constant bombardment of environment: so vesicles formed fluid filled compartments that have a membrane. Eventually different membranes and eventually vesicles are formed. Maybe atp was used to get energy. Imperfect replication is what leads to diversity and evolution. Ex: cyclic amp: monomers for making nucleic acids.
