Life Came by Land, Not by Sea?

Researchers propose that the first living cells may have originated in mud pots, rather than the primordial oceans previously thought of as the initial birthplace.

Article and Image from: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2012/02/120213-first-life-land-mud-darwin-evolution-animals-science/

Charles Darwin’s suggestion that life could have arisen from a nutrient-filled “warm little pond” is being revisited by cellular and geologic researchers. Recently, the most popular theories for life were based on oceanic research of the life-abundant seafloor. Hot volcanic underwater vents provide minerals for deepwater ecosystems, which theorists suggest could be very similar to the circumstances that created life. However, a new study suggests that the cells that thrive under these conditions are not at all like those in ancient oceans. Rather, the vapors in volcanic mud pots on land are much more similar to the environment necessary to create and maintain the original cells. These areas hold high ratios of potassium to sodium, which is also found in all living cells. The oceanic environment has too much sodium. Sodium blocks the cells from synthesize proteins. They need a lot of potassium to work correctly and stay alive. The original cells had rudimentary cellular membranes and had to rely on whatever nutrients they could trap. Therefore, the environment was critical to the survival of the cells. In the ratio between potassium and sodium, potassium had to be higher. In ancient and modern seawater, the ratio is 40 to 1, favoring sodium. Researchers worked with geologists to try to find alternatives to the original birthplace, where life could have begun between 4.3 and 3.8 years ago. Together, they found that geothermal fields are a likely candidate. Mud pots found in places like Yellowstone are most probable. In mud pots, steam comes from the earth and condenses. They are filled with minerals, like potassium. These mud pots were originally ignored because they are saturated with sulfuric acid, created by the mixture of hydrogen sulfide and oxygen in the atmosphere. Sulfuric acid is a deadly chemical and therefore obviously unsuited for life. However, Earth did not always have so much oxygen in the atmosphere, which one of the researchers explains. Therefore, sulfuric acid would not have been a problem, making the mud pots a very promising candidate.

Our society is often obsessed by the future. We focus many of our efforts, and money, on new technologies and other advances. However, it remains important to glance back into our origins as well. Only through understanding our past can we hope to create a decent future. The theories provided by these researchers give us a new way of looking at our creation story. As we learn more about the world as it was when life began, we learn more about what could be in store for us in the future, and perhaps how other worlds may develop. This study focuses on where we all, plants and animals alike, originated. If it is not relevant, nothing is.

I found this article very interesting. I found the theory it describes quite plausible. It seems more likely than current theories, especially considering the information the article provides on the potassium-sodium ratio. I would be very interested in seeing a debate between the land and sea theorists. I’m always glad to find scientists continually searching for answers for how the world came to be how it is. I hope we never stop looking for these answers, for we surely will never find them all.