Biology 1001A Lecture Notes - Functional Group, Craig Venter, Vise
10 Apr 2013
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Document Summary
Rna world: - came first: information, structure, catalysis. If can fold like a protein, complementary base pairing, can acquire very elaborate 3d shapes. Early atmosphere h2o, h2, ch4, nh3, h2s. Reducing atmosphere (building complex molecules from reduced, electron rich molecules) Miller-urey experiment: set up an artificial atmosphere. Important monomers (amino acids, sugars, purines and pyrimidines) Cannot do abiotic synthesis now because there is so much oxygen in the atmosphere. Biological stage: how did the building blocks organize into living cells? connection between cyanobacteria and atmospheric oxygen levels. The splitting of water released protons and electrons but it also resulted in the formation of oxygen. Oxygen started being released and over of millions of year slowly accumulated in the atmosphere physical/chemical conditions of primordial earth with respect to atmosphere, energy. Deep sea vents, hot, nutrient rich, extremophiles. Panspermia, seeds of life from space basic principles of oxidation/reduction chemistry.
