[ExI] Abiogenesis under extremes of pressure

[Giovanni Santostasi]

Here an interesting TED lectures on actual attempts of abiogenesis in the
lab.
http://www.ted.com/talks/martin_hanczyc_the_line_between_life_and_not_life.html

Giovanni


On Sat, Jun 9, 2012 at 3:22 PM, Dan <dan_ust at yahoo.com> wrote:

> On Saturday, June 9, 2012 11:47 AM BillK <pharos at gmail.com> wrote
> 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>
>
>
> I'm not sure how my point could be misunderstood, but I was talking about
> the origin of life NOT whether life currently exists under these
> conditions. Yes, there is life there now -- just like therr's life in the
> dirt outside my window and, heck, on the my window -- but I was wondering
> whether anyone has done any sort of abiogenesis* experiments (or even
> serious theorizing) under extreme pressures to see if that's a factor in
> the origin of life. (This research can be pursued on either end of the
> spectrum too: very high pressures or very low ones. Maybe, as chemical
> reactions are impacted, this might lead to some progress, such as, perhaps,
> finding that high pressure lead to the formation of more complicated
> precursors or to life itself.)
>
> (And, regarding hydrothermal vents as places for life to originate, I've
> not read or heard anything about anyone paying particular attention to the
> high pressures themselves being a factor -- just as the source of energy
> and chemicals and gradients. I was specifically focusing on extremes of
> pressure maybe having a decisive impact on the origin of life.)
>
>
> Regards,
>
> Dan
>
> * That is, how biological life might arise from inorganic matter through
> natural processes.
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