[ExI] Abiogenesis under extremes of pressure

[Dan]

On Thursday, June 14, 2012 11:20 PM Kelly Anderson <kellycoinguy at gmail.com> writeth:

> On Sat, Jun 9, 2012 at 8:58 AM, Dan <dan_ust at yahoo.com> 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.
> 
>   I think you would find the work of Robert M. Hazen very interesting.

Thanks! I hadn't read of his work -- or, if I have, I've forgotten it.


> His book "Genesis" talks exactly about abiogenesis under high
> pressure. He has an entire chapter entitled "Under Pressure". He
> started life as a geologist, so this was pretty natural for him to
> think about.


Yes, it would seem to be. However, I recall that book being poorly reviewed for being basically a hodge podge. Still, if folks in the field are already exploring high pressure regimes, then my supposed original thought is not all that original and no need to shout it from the house tops. :)

 
>   If you prefer video instead, you can look for his TLC class on the
> subject which is very interesting, but takes some time to work
> through. Contact me off list if you can't find it. 


Actually, I almost always prefer text to all else. But thanks just the same.


Regards,

Dan