[ExI] Abiogenesis under extremes of pressure

[BillK]

On Sat, Jun 9, 2012 at 3:58 PM, Dan wrote:
> Only a very casual observer of the origins of life field, but I wonder if
> any work is being carried out to see if biologicals can be produced under
> extremely high or low pressures. Proteins and other organic compounds (and,
> heck, lots of things) behave differently under very high or very low
> pressure. I'm not saying this will be the magic bullet -- squeeze some amino
> acids, lipids, and other goodies under a hundred atmospheres for a few days
> and out will crawl something we'll all recognize as alive -- but I'm
> wondering if anyone is pursuing this approach.
>
>

Lots of life in the deep ocean at up to 1000 atm pressure.
See:
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deep_ocean>
also
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrothermal_vents>



BillK