ASTR BC 1753x Lecture Notes - Lecture 13: Jack W. Szostak, Outer Space, Abiogenesis
17 Oct 2016
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Nucleosynthesis (big bang, stars, supernova) -> elements needed for life (c,h,o, n) Easy to form amino acids, the building blocks of proteins (but not proteins, dna, or life) Dozens of organic molecules have been discovered in interstellar and circumstellar space (e. g. sugar, cyanide, urea, benzene) These organics stick to silicate grains (dust), which get heated by uv rays when near a star. This removes the water, bakes the organics, and forms complex organics such as amino acids. Amino acids are naturally common: easily formed in miller-urey experiment and found in asteroids (amino acids -> peptide -> protein) Consider some possible ways you might define life in one sentence. School: life engages in respiration, reproduction regulation, excretion, growth, nutrition, transport & synthesis (operative definition, what life does) Nasa: life is a self sustaining chemical reaction capable of darwinian evolution (is darwinian evolution necessary?)
