the origin of life on

earth
-Legario, Chelsea Aslhehara
B.
How old is this planet anyway?
• The Universe is probably ~13 billion years old (Big
Bang Theory/Doppler Shift)

• Earth is ~4.5 billion years old (begins with cooling of

crust/solidification)

• Earliest records of life ~3.5 billion years ago

• First humans (Australopithecus), 0.005 billion years

ago

• Discovery of Australopithecus fossils , 0.0000000002

The Fragility of Life
- Coincidence #1

Life can only exist within temperatures corresponding to

the boiling and freezing point of water

This range is a fraction of the range between absolute

zero (-273°C) and the temperature of the sun (106°C)
How did life evolve?
• Three theories
• Creationism
• Extraterrestrial origin
(Panspermia)
• Spontaneous Origin
• (Coincidence #2)
 Physical conditions of early
Earth - Coincidence #3

• Temperatures in correct range

(in general, water in fluid state, carbon compounds non-
brittle)

• Size of planet retains an atmosphere

• Early atmosphere lacked oxygen, therefore highly reductive

• High energy bombardment from sun

promotes generation of organics
Spontaneous origins of life
- 4 steps

• Abiotic synthesis and accumulation of organic

compounds

• Polymerization

• Aggregation of polymers into nonliving

structures (Protobionts)
• Oparin’s Bubble theory
Experimental evidence of

Spontaneous Origin

• Polymerization can occur with appropriate

substrate

• Abiotically produced proteins (proteinoids)

self-assemble into Protobionts (selectively
permeable membrane)
Final: Heredity

• First passage of genetic information probably

occurred through short strands of RNA (also
autocatalyst, e.g ribozymes)

• Mutations cause variation

• “Natural selection” of molecular combinations

• Origin of DNA
 Earth - The Early Years
• Late Precambrian saw the first eukaryotic
multicellular life

• Boundary between Precambrian and Cambrian (580

mya) marked by a rapid adaptive
radiation/diversification of marine life
(Cambrian explosion)

• By the middle of the Cambrian, all of the animal

phyla existing today had evolved
 The study of evolutionary history:
Phylogeny
• Modern Darwinian synthesis suggests adaptive radiation from a common
ancestor

• Concept of phylogeny supported through studies of homology

• Traditional classification systems (Linnaeus) are monophyletic,

based on homology parallel or divergent evolution

• Some groupings are polyphyletic, with analogous structure convergent

evolution
 • Scientists follow various taxonomic
systems: Campbell uses the 5
kingdom classification scheme
- Monera
- Protista
- Plantae
- Fungi
- Animalia
The Kingdom System
 Monera :
the Pioneers of Life on Earth
• The most ‘successful’ group of organisms on the
planet

• 3.5 billion year history

• Although only 4000 species known, the number of

extant species is thought to be about 3million or
more.

• Found in all ecological niches, including some

The Evolution of Man
“Mankind stood up first and got
smart later”

Stephen Jay Gould