Orgin of Life: A Short Summary

 

Origin of Life

My brother-in-law, a Structural Engineer wrote this to me as he was puzzled how life came about.

“Aiyah, just wondering. Maybe in a few million years from now, these organic molecules could coalesce, mutate and go through a process to form life?”

My very, very brief answer to him is:

These molecules could coalesce as large and complex as they like, as long as they like to combine, but they are still dead without any life in them, unless a living spirit (soul) is pumped into them to make them alive just like a piece of beef is dead when taken off from a living cow.

And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul (Genesis 2:7)

See further explanation on the mysteries of life is here:

https://scientificlogic.blogspot.com/2010/09/mystery-of-life-unmeasurable-vital.html

Origin of the Covid Virus

As far as expertise scientists in evolutionary biology know, here is a very short summary how viruses and later other higher organisms may have evolved:

Age of Earth and History of Evolution of Life on Earth

1. 4,500 – 4,400 million years ago (Mya). Accretion of Earth

2. 4,200 million years ago (Mya) Atmosphere and oceans form

3. 4,000 million years ago (Mya) Prebiotic chemistry became possible

4. 3,800 million years ago RNA world shown by the first chemical fossil

available (viruses)

5. 3,600 million years ago the first DNA protein life came into existence

6. 3,500 million years ago LUCA: Archaea / Bacteria spilt and also

photosynthesis (autotrophy) began.

7. 2,700 – 1,900 million years ago the first eukaryotes / sexual reproduction became possible.

8. 1,000 Mya?

9. 650 Mya Metazoans

10. 575 Oldest large organisms, etc, etc over the billions of years. 

It is clear that the viruses were the first pre-life form between the living and non-living that may have come into existence by random collisions of untold trillions upon trillions of nucleic acids, plus nitrogen compounds such as amino acids synthesized by lightning shown by Miller–Urey chemistry experiment  in 1952 that simulated the conditions thought at the time to be present in the atmosphere of the early prebiotic Earth, in order to test the hypothesis of the chemical origin of life under those conditions. The experiment used water (H₂O), methane (CH₄), ammonia (NH₃), hydrogen (H₂), and an electric arc (the latter simulating hypothesized lightning).

These primordial chemicals of life may have been floating in the warm primordial oceans where the first life arose.  But what we do not know is, how did the bacteria and other higher organisms come into existence on their own with the viruses going in between the living and non-living? 

There are many theories on life's origin, among them they came from the hot vents in oceans floors. We shall not go into them as they would run into lengthy chapters and piles of conference papers already being presented at symposia. 

Suffice to say that even though viruses need a living host such as an animal for their duplication, it is also possible for them to mutate randomly on their own to give rise to other kinds of viruses including the coronaviruses like the present Covid virus. It is not necessarily that they must originate from the SARS-COV-2 strains as some scientists believe just because their RNA showed similar sequences. 

In truth we really do not know how this Covid virus came into being despite the US blaming China for creating this virus, or from a leak from Wuhan Institute of Virology among other theories such as they came from wildlife like bats and pangolins sold in Wuhan markets. It may have originated through multiple mutations from other viruses over millions of years into SARS-related coronaviruses.

It could also be seeded onto Earth by passing comets from icy planetesimals in the Oort Cloud surrounding the Sun 2, 000 to 200,000 astronomical units away. 

(1 astronomical unit = 1.58 light years or 14,959,7871 km) 

We can only answer this if we bring in what the Hebrew Bible tells us.

"Behold, saith the Lord, I will bring plagues upon the world, the sword, famine, death, and destruction.

For wickedness hath exceedingly polluted the whole earth, and their hurtful works are fulfilled". (4 Ezra 15

:5 - 6).

It is the Intelligent Designer prerogative to do anything He wishes, and, in any design, He likes to this Earth.