Where did all this come from? - PDF Free Download

Where did all this come from? BIG BANG makes Hydrogen (H2), Helium (He) Ammonia (NH3) Formaldehyde (H2CO) Hydrogen Cyanide (HCN) Methane (CH4) or Carbon dioxide (CO2) 2(H2CO) + (HCN) -> Glycolaldehyde

From Aristotle: To Reni: To Darwin:

From Aristotle: To Reni: To Darwin: spontaneous generation happens, often life comes from life from one species to many

To Darwin: from one species to many

How far can we extrapolate from one species to many?

Proceed with CAUTION when inferring descent from a common ancestor based on similarity Pick a number between 1 and 5

Are these similarities coincidental?

Are these similarities coincidental? or related (by descent from a common ancestor)?

Sometimes one particular way is the only way it works well. Other times, there are many ways to do something and they work equally well.

Are these similarities coincidental? or related (by common designer)? Pyramid of Khafre, Egypt ca 2550 BC Mayan pyramids of Teotihuacan, Mexico

Are these similarities coincidental? or related (by common designer)? Neither: there is a functional reason for similarities one way works best Pyramid of Khafre, Egypt ca 2550 BC Mayan pyramids of Teotihuacan, Mexico Black Pyramid of Amenemhat III, Egypt 2055 1650 BC Fajada Butte, New Mexico

Proceed with CAUTION when inferring descent from a common ancestor based on similarity Is the similarity actually a coincidence? Or is the similarity due to functional reasons?

So how would you go about demonstrating that humans are related to: monkeys mice cows whales dogs

So how would you go about demonstrating that humans are related to: monkeys mice cows whales dogs C = pelvis and femur

Darwin hypothesized all life descended from a single common ancestor, but he lacked evidence to support his hypothesis. If Darwin s hypothesis was true what evidence would you expect to find?

Are these similarities coincidental, or functional? or because of descent from a common ancestor? All animals, plants and fungi have nucleus, mitochondria, etc

Are these similarities coincidental, or functional? or because of descent from a common ancestor? All life uses proteins made from the same 20 amino acids

Stanley Miller s Prebiotic Soup Mix methane, ammonia, water, hydrogen gases plus electric spark Yields organic molecules, mostly amino acids

Are these similarities coincidental, or functional? or because of descent from a common ancestor? All life uses DNA to encode those proteins (and all life uses the same 4 nucleotides to do so)

Are these similarities coincidental, or functional? or because of descent from a common ancestor? All life is built on the same Central Dogma of Modern Biology T A G T C A A T A G T C G C G DNA RNA C U A C A U A G C A U Amino acid G Amino acid protein Amino acid

All modern life on Earth is related by descent from a common ancestor. What evidence supports this? Same central dogma Same 4 nucleotides in DNA Same 20 amino acids in protein Same Universal Codon Decoder

So all modern life can be reduced to the central dogma

But we have a chicken or the egg problem: Proteins are made from DNA, but DNA is made by proteins. This lead to a hypothesis that life must have originated in a singlebiopolymer capable of doing both genetic storage and catalysis.

But we have a chicken or the egg problem: Which polymer came first? DNA is bad choice because the properties that make DNA suitable for being copied make it bad for folding into complex shapes. Protein is bad choice because the properties that makes protein suitable for folding into complex shapes make it bad for being copied. There are contradictory chemical demands between being a good template for storing information, and being a good catalyst.

But we have a chicken or the egg problem: Is there a biomolecule can do both: 1. store information and be copied accurately (like DNA) 2. fold into structures that catalyze chemical reactions (like proteins)

The RNA world hypothesis RNA

RNA The RNA world hypothesis If life started with only RNA, then we should look for evidence Is there any evidence that RNA can act as a catalyst like enzymes? Are there any vestigial traces from the RNA world places where RNA is used but it doesn t make sense?

RNA can do both catalysis and genetics Ribosome: Small ribosomal subunit: RNA in color, ribosomal proteins in white.

Why use RNA as an intermediate between DNA and protein? RNA seems inferior to DNA: 2 OH makes RNA unstable U is promiscuous H-bonding partner C degrades into U, so RNA is impossible to proofread: RNA: CUCU -> UUUU DNA: CTCT -> UTUT

RNA in vitamins are vestigial traits RNA is part of vitamins and cofactors common to all life: Vitamin B-12, FAD, NAD, CoA, ATP, SAM, ribo-terpene, etc Vitamin B-12

RNA But there is still a big gap between the RNA world and the Big Bang Ammonia (NH3) Formaldehyde (H2CO) Hydrogen Cyanide (HCN) Methane (CH4) or Carbon dioxide (CO2) 2(H2CO) + (HCN) -> Glycolaldehyde

RNA Random RNA polymers Ammonia (NH3) Formaldehyde (H2CO) Hydrogen Cyanide (HCN) Methane (CH4) or Carbon dioxide (CO2) 2(H2CO) + (HCN) -> Glycolaldehyde

A random bunch of polymers AXZ RHIKS ELLJ ASDGJA SODFMA JKSDOF GASD SDGAJKDR JLERTSSDD SKA DGOASNM HKR LJKOSM HKODMJ SAK DFGIAS DFJA ONCE UPON A TIME SA DJFO AJASDJ OASD PHLQN KHJAID ASVMAEW OIHASJA LKASDOJO KSDOAFKJ SKDFAO IN A GALAXY FAR FAR AWAY

RNA Admittedly there are many details to fill in Random RNA polymers Ammonia (NH3) Formaldehyde (H2CO) Hydrogen Cyanide (HCN) Methane (CH4) or Carbon dioxide (CO2) 2(H2CO) + (HCN) -> Glycolaldehyde