chefranden Posted April 14, 2009 Share Posted April 14, 2009 The Bio Code" -Is Life Written Into the Laws of Physics? Biology A recent mathematical analysis says that life as we know it is written into the laws of reality. DNA is built from a set of twenty amino acids - the first ten of those can create simple prebiotic life, and now it seems that those ten are thermodynamically destined to occur wherever they can. For those unfamiliar with thermodynamics, it's the Big Brother of all energy equations and science itself. You can apply quantum mechanics at certain scales, and Newtonian mechanics work at the right speeds, but if Thermodynamics says something then everyone listens. An energy analysis by Professors Pudritz and Higgs of McMaster University shows that the first ten amino acids are likely to form at relatively low temperatures and pressures, and the calculated odds of formation match the concentrations of these life-chemicals found in meteorite samples. They also match those in simulations of early Earth, and most critically, those simulations were performed by other people. The implications are staggering: good news for anyone worried about how we're alone, and bad news for anyone who demands some kind of "Designer" to put life together - it seems that physics can assemble the organic jigsaw all by itself, thank you very much, and has probably done so throughout space since the beginning of everything. The study indicates that you don't need a miracle to arrive at the chemical cocktail for early life, just a decently large asteroid with the right components. That's all. The entire universe could be stuffed with life, from the earliest prebiotic protein-a-likes to fully DNAed descendants. The path from one to the other is long, but we've had thirteen and a half billion years so far and it's happened at least once. The other ten amino acids aren't as easy to form, but they'll still turn up - and the process of "stepwise evolution" means that once the simpler systems work, they can grab the rarer "epic drops" of more sophisticated chemicals as they occur - kind of a World of Lifecraft except you literally get a life when you play. And once even the most sophisticated structure is part of a replicating organism, there's plenty to go round. http://www.dailygalaxy.com/my_weblog/2009/...of-physics.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PandaPirate Posted April 14, 2009 Share Posted April 14, 2009 Would that imply that DNA is a creative force? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ouroboros Posted April 14, 2009 Share Posted April 14, 2009 Would that imply that DNA is a creative force? No, I think it's rather that Nature, or the Physical Reality, or whatever you'd like to call the things which make existence possible, is a creative force. This article doesn't surprise me, because I read a couple of years ago that logically life must be a potential property of the Universe, or else it couldn't have happened. In other words, when Big Bang happened, life was already a high probability to eventually happen, because all the necessary components were there to eventually bring it about. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Legion Posted April 14, 2009 Share Posted April 14, 2009 The entire universe could be stuffed with life... Relatively speaking, it could be. And I would bet that it is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PandaPirate Posted April 17, 2009 Share Posted April 17, 2009 Would that imply that DNA is a creative force? No, I think it's rather that Nature, or the Physical Reality, or whatever you'd like to call the things which make existence possible, is a creative force. This article doesn't surprise me, because I read a couple of years ago that logically life must be a potential property of the Universe, or else it couldn't have happened. In other words, when Big Bang happened, life was already a high probability to eventually happen, because all the necessary components were there to eventually bring it about. Hey Hans, you might be interested in a book called The Cosmic Serpent: DNA and the Origins of Knowledge by anthropologist Jeremy Narby. It raises some interesting questions and proposes even more interesting answers to the Origins of Knowledge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ouroboros Posted April 17, 2009 Share Posted April 17, 2009 PP, will do. I'll put it on my wish list on Amazon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PandaPirate Posted April 17, 2009 Share Posted April 17, 2009 PP, will do. I'll put it on my wish list on Amazon. Maybe if I'm feeling generous one day I'll send you a copy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sexton Blake Posted April 17, 2009 Share Posted April 17, 2009 Bacterial life almost certainly exists below the surface of Mars. It may exist in the upper clouds of Venus. No one would be surprised to find life under the surface of some of the moons of Jupiter or Saturn. We may be looking at a universe full of life. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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