[ExI] Panbiogenesis news

[BillK]

On 6 March 2015 at 14:29, Stuart LaForge  wrote:
> About ten years ago, I discussed on this list the possibility that life
> started *everywhere* in the universe in the epoch following the big bang. My
> reasoning was that shortly after the big bang, the universe was too hot and
> dense for life, while now the universe is too cold and diffuse for life.
> Therefore it stands to reason that to get from then to now, at some point
> the universe would have had to pass through a "goldilocks epoch". During
> this time the entire universe should have had liquid water in abundance at
> about 310 K, the perfect temperature for carbon-based life. This temperature
> would be independent of stars because it would have been the background
> temperature of what is now the CMB. Thus even interstellar water nebulae
> could harbor life.
>
> Well now it looks like a professional astrobiologist at Harvard has caught
> onto the idea:
> http://arxiv.org/pdf/1312.0613v3.pdf
>


This paper was much discussed when originally published and the
reaction was that it was speculative, but very unlikely.
See:
<http://futureandcosmos.blogspot.co.uk/2013/12/could-life-have-evolved-in-very-early.html>
Summary:
The warm period was only c. 2 million years. Not long enough to evolve life.
Lots of radiation from the early universe.
If any early solar systems existed, there would be a heavy bombardment
environment.
Lack of heavy elements generated from stellar evolution.

BillK