THIS IS A REQUIRED SYNCHRONOUS AND ASYNCHRONOUS ACTIVITY. WATCH IT.

TAKE DOWN
IMPORTANT NOTES IN YOUR NOTEBOOK.

1. Carbon, the Element of Life -- WHY IS CARBON THE KEY TO LIFE?

2. Chemical and Biological Evolution -- WHAT IS CHEMICAL EVOLUTION?
3. Theory of Abiogenesis: The Miller-Urey Experiment and Oparin's Primordial Soup
4. LUCA from Hydrothermal Vents
5. RNA-World Hypothesis
6. Metabolism First Hypothesis
7. Exobiogenesis: An Alternative Theory to the Origin of Life

Why is Carbon the Key to Life? (On Earth, Anyway)

What is Chemical Evolution?
What Was The Miller-Urey Experiment?
The mysterious origins of life on Earth - Luka Seamus Wright
What Is the RNA World Hypothesis?
What Is The Metabolism-First Hypothesis For The Origin Of life?

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OUTPUT: POSITION PAPER

4.1 Chemical and Biological Evolution 9:15

4.2 Miller and Urey experiments and Oparin's Primordial Soup 7:29
4.3 LUCA and the Hydrothermal Vents 4:56
4.4 RNA-World Hypothesis 5:33
4.5 Exobiogenesis: An Alternative Theory on the Origin of Life

TAKING AN INFORMED STAND: After reading the assigned Chapters and watching the videoclips,
play the "Evolution Detective" and gather evidentiary materials you can use to take a stand:

Which of the three most strongly supported theories, to you, is the "MOST PLAUSIBLE and MOST
ELEGANT" explanation of the origin of Life on Earth:
1. Abiogenesis: The Primordial Soup
2. Abiogenesis: LUCA and the Hydrothermal Vents
3. Exobiogenesis

What is your expected output? A POSITION PAPER one to two pages in length
1. In addition to the assigned readings and the videoclips provided in this module, about the three
theories.
2. Which of the three theories do you think is the explanation of the origins of Life on Earth.
3. Challenge your own position. Gather more information about your position.
4. Organize collected supporting evidences.
5. Write a POSITION PAPER that includes the following:

● An Introduction: Background of the Topic and Your Position Statement

● Opposition to and Evidences that challenge your Stand
● Building your Case: Presentation of Science-based Supporting Arguments
● Defending your Position: Discrediting Counter-arguments
● Summary and restatement of your Position

This is due on March 21, 2022 - 7:00 PM.

REMINDER: DO NOT PLAGIARIZE. Cite all sources.

Thank you.

TYPE YOUR POSITION PAPER HERE

 The origin of life on Earth: The Primordial Soup Theory

Until now, Scientists and Researchers have debated various theories on where life comes
from. The Primordial Soup was one of the theories that attempt to provide answers. The theory
was introduced by Russian biologist Oparin and English biologist Darwin in the 1920s.
Alexander Ivanovich Oparin, later hypothesized that with the present amount of atmospheric
oxygen, he theorized that organic compounds required to the formation of life could not be
synthesized , and that the action of sunlight in an atmosphere devoid of oxygen may result in the
formation of a "primeval soup" of organic bio-molecules. The experiment conducted by Stanley
Miller and Harold Urey simulates the ancient earth’s water cycle and activities in a form of an
apparatus together with the known abundant elements such as ammonia, methane, and hydrogen.
The experiment was a pivotal breakthrough in science, as it gave rise to a new field of research
known as Prebiotic Chemistry. This only proves that inorganic molecules can produce organic
molecules which are considered to be the building blocks of life.

One of the theories that overturned the Primordial soup was the Earth’s chemical energy,
from the hydrothermal vents on the ocean floor. Dr. Nick from the University College of London
presented a new perspective that the early theory won’t work at all. They provided an alternative
that life arose from gases (H2, CO2, N2, and H2S) with the first energy forming from
geochemical gradients produced by the Earth. According to critics, life as we know it can’t exist
without an energy source. Since the soup does not have the capacity to produce the energy vital
for life, the theory is not plausible. After the primordial soup theory was rejected, a team
pioneered by Michael Russel focused on alkaline deep-sea vents, since these produced chemical
gradients that are similar to those used by living organisms today. They believe that these
chemical gradients were exploited by early organisms using chemiosmosis.

Another theory that overturned the Primordial Soup is the RNA-world hypothesis, when
heated to a certain temperature, amino acids have been shown to assemble into proteins. Proteins
have a variety of critical roles in the functioning of living organisms, including serving as
enzymes to accelerate the rate at which chemical processes occur. However, the notion that
proteins were responsible for the origin of life has recently been widely discredited. Life requires
the ability to reproduce, which necessitates the creation of molecules that are capable of
replicating themselves. RNA is by far the most likely contender. RNA is a molecule that is
identical to DNA, but it also has the ability to fold up and function as an enzyme, exactly like a
protein. RNA is not as excellent at information storage as DNA, and it is not as flexible as
proteins, but it is a molecular jack of all trades in terms of function and versatility.

With the findings found in the experiment conducted by Stanley Miller and Harold Urey
in 1953, it has “helped prove that life may have originated according to the primordial soup
theory” (BiologyWise, n.d). Their experiment was to recreate ancient earth’s atmospheric
conditions, and the results of this experiment is that some of the carbon has been converted to
organic forms, and some were in the form of essential amino acids. Another discovery by Joan
Oró, a Catalonian biochemist, in 1961 is that a “reaction between hydrogen cyanide and
ammonia not only produces amino acids but also a tremendous amount of adenine, the
nucleotide base”. As one of the four bases in RNA and DNA molecules, a component of ATP,
adenine is “vital for the functioning of any living cell” (BiologyWise, n.d). Not only did these
findings inspire further experiments successful in producing other RNA and DNA bases, it also
provided experimental support to the primordial soup theory.

We chose this theory because it supports the idea of abiogenesis, where it states that life
begins from inorganic materials. Through the miller urey experiment a possibility was shown
that life can begin from inorganic compounds which results in producing organic materials that a
living cell needs for it to survive. We believe that the primordial soup theory is the most
plausible explanation for the origin of life because we think that it serves as the scaffolding or
reference for all the following existing theories that disprove and/or support the primordial soup
theory. The intelligent-cause theory is supported by positing intelligence as the origin of life,
which meets these prerequisites. Also, any other modern source explanation must outperform the
primordial soup hypothesis quantitatively. It should also appropriately justify the presence of the
genetic script's required complexities without possessing any inherent defects.

References.
Wiley-Blackwell. (2010, February 3). New research rejects 80-year theory of 'primordial
soup' as the origin of life. ScienceDaily. Retrieved March 30, 2022 from
www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/02/100202101245.htm
BiologyWise. (n.d). Finding the Origin of Life: The Primordial Soup Theory Explained.
Retrieved April 1, 2022 from https://biologywise.com/primordial-soup-theory-explained
Michael Marshall. (n.d.). How did life begin?. NewScientist. Retrieved March 31, 2022
from https://www.newscientist.com/question/how-did-life-begin/