Spent the car ride home contemplating the origins of life. After awhile of trying to imagine how life could have sprung out of preexisting (but lifeless) matter, I decided that life must have started as some sort of simple, self replicating mechanism formed by naturally occurring materials. I imagined bubbles made of goo that were caught in an environment that made it possible for more and more bubbles to be formed, but an environment that somehow depended on the presence of the bubbles to be a more effective bubble factory. By the time I got home I was convinced that I was insane. Went in my room and find that this idea has a name, and its called Self-Sustaining coacervates theory and experiments designed to explore that very same daydream were done over 50 years ago. The scientist in several similar experiments had an interesting result: after electrically stimulating a solution of organic compounds, newer, more complex molecular structures were synthesized. eventually the newer and more complex molecules began to coagulate into bi-layered bubbles of goo that exhibit some properties of life. Including growth, reproduction, and even some levels of adaptation. So I just had my daydreams scientifically reinforced by scientists who are all dead now. This has been a weird couple of hours. We may have evolved from bubbles.
Posted on: Sat, 19 Oct 2013 01:24:57 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015