February 17, 2010
'Primordial Soup' Theory Under Attack
Some scientists think the first living cells originated around
deep-sea, alkaline hydrothermal vents.
'Primordial Soup' Theory Under Attack
Some scientists think the first living cells originated around
deep-sea, alkaline hydrothermal vents.
SUMMARY: The idea that life on Earth began in a "primordial soup" should be
discarded, according to biochemist Nick Lane and his colleagues at University
College London.
The primordial soup theory, which originated in 1929, holds that the Earth's
early atmosphere was made up of simple gases like methane and ammonia.
These chemicals would react under influence from ultraviolet rays or lightning
to produce a thin "soup" of organic molecules. The soup grew thicker over time
and the molecules began forming amino acids, the building blocks of proteins
from which all life has "evolved."
Lane, however, thinks the planet's early atmosphere did not have much
methane or ammonia. Instead, he is proposing life's predecessors came about
because of deep-sea, alkaline hydrothermal vents. Warm fluids that percolate
up through the ocean floor are said to react with ocean water to form tiny,
inorganic cells. These cells produce energy similar to how living cells do it
today, by harnessing chemical gradients across a membrane. In the cells it's
the movement of protons that produces energy. Lane says the first cells
"learned" to do this from the honeycomb of tiny chambers found in the
deep-sea vents.
"We think that the first cells could not have left these vents unless they'd found
a way of tapping into these gradients that were naturally existing there, and
then later on learning to generate their own," Lane claims.
To read the entire article, click on this link to NPR.
COMMENT: The idea that life arose in primordial soup has been a mainstay
of evolutionary thought for 80 years. To question it is almost like questioning
the power of natural selection or mutations. But Nick Lane is not the first
secular scientist to find this theory difficult to accept. Astrobiologist
Chandra Wickramasinghe. who believed comets seeded life on Earth, once
said, "…The emergence of life from a primordial soup on the Earth is merely
an article of faith that scientists are finding difficult to shed. There is no
experimental evidence to support this at the present time.
"Indeed all attempts to create life from non-life, starting from Pasteur, have
been unsuccessful. Also recent geological evidence indicates that life was
present on Earth over 3.6 billion years ago, at a time when the Earth was
being pummeled by comet and meteorite impacts, and no primordial soup
could have been expected to brew." (Answers in Genesis)
Wickramasinghe, of course, hasn't solved the problem (for evolutionists) of the
Law of Biogenesis either (i.e., life can only come from life). He merely pushes
the problem out into space. Neither does this article make clear how Lane's
explanation really solves the problem. His explanation does have a comical
element to it though. He is quoted as saying non-living cells can "learn"
to produce energy and become living things.
For Christians, the origin of life is no problem at all. The Living God, Who has
always been living, produced the ancestors of all living creatures during the six
days of creation. Unlike God, all humans have had a beginning. However,
believers in Jesus who have repented of their sins and come to faith in the
Savior will like God and the angels live eternally in our future home in heaven.
No primordial soup or hydrothermal vents needed!
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QUESTION OF THE DAY
How does the number of family farms in the U.S. today compare to the
number in 1959?
****************************************************************************************************
discarded, according to biochemist Nick Lane and his colleagues at University
College London.
The primordial soup theory, which originated in 1929, holds that the Earth's
early atmosphere was made up of simple gases like methane and ammonia.
These chemicals would react under influence from ultraviolet rays or lightning
to produce a thin "soup" of organic molecules. The soup grew thicker over time
and the molecules began forming amino acids, the building blocks of proteins
from which all life has "evolved."
Lane, however, thinks the planet's early atmosphere did not have much
methane or ammonia. Instead, he is proposing life's predecessors came about
because of deep-sea, alkaline hydrothermal vents. Warm fluids that percolate
up through the ocean floor are said to react with ocean water to form tiny,
inorganic cells. These cells produce energy similar to how living cells do it
today, by harnessing chemical gradients across a membrane. In the cells it's
the movement of protons that produces energy. Lane says the first cells
"learned" to do this from the honeycomb of tiny chambers found in the
deep-sea vents.
"We think that the first cells could not have left these vents unless they'd found
a way of tapping into these gradients that were naturally existing there, and
then later on learning to generate their own," Lane claims.
To read the entire article, click on this link to NPR.
COMMENT: The idea that life arose in primordial soup has been a mainstay
of evolutionary thought for 80 years. To question it is almost like questioning
the power of natural selection or mutations. But Nick Lane is not the first
secular scientist to find this theory difficult to accept. Astrobiologist
Chandra Wickramasinghe. who believed comets seeded life on Earth, once
said, "…The emergence of life from a primordial soup on the Earth is merely
an article of faith that scientists are finding difficult to shed. There is no
experimental evidence to support this at the present time.
"Indeed all attempts to create life from non-life, starting from Pasteur, have
been unsuccessful. Also recent geological evidence indicates that life was
present on Earth over 3.6 billion years ago, at a time when the Earth was
being pummeled by comet and meteorite impacts, and no primordial soup
could have been expected to brew." (Answers in Genesis)
Wickramasinghe, of course, hasn't solved the problem (for evolutionists) of the
Law of Biogenesis either (i.e., life can only come from life). He merely pushes
the problem out into space. Neither does this article make clear how Lane's
explanation really solves the problem. His explanation does have a comical
element to it though. He is quoted as saying non-living cells can "learn"
to produce energy and become living things.
For Christians, the origin of life is no problem at all. The Living God, Who has
always been living, produced the ancestors of all living creatures during the six
days of creation. Unlike God, all humans have had a beginning. However,
believers in Jesus who have repented of their sins and come to faith in the
Savior will like God and the angels live eternally in our future home in heaven.
No primordial soup or hydrothermal vents needed!
****************************************************************************************************
Want to be automatically notified each time there is a new post? Just e-mail
your request to [admin@lutheranscience.org].
****************************************************************************************************
QUESTION OF THE DAY
How does the number of family farms in the U.S. today compare to the
number in 1959?
****************************************************************************************************
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| LSI stands for the Lutheran Science Institute, an organization of WELS and ELS Lutherans interested in science and health issues with a special emphasis on the creation and evolution controversy. This blog's purpose is to search the Internet to find articles of interest to Christians. Views expressed are those of the author (Warren Krug) and are not necessarily those of the Lutheran Science Institute, Inc. |
Today there are 2.2 million family farms. In 1959
there were 4.1 million. However, because of the
current difficulty in finding other kinds of work,
some unemployed people are going into farming.
Source: Parade (1/24/10)
there were 4.1 million. However, because of the
current difficulty in finding other kinds of work,
some unemployed people are going into farming.
Source: Parade (1/24/10)
