Mysteries on LUKA and Origin of Life (Part 3)

 

 

 Good afternoon to you all, my gentle readers

Thank you for reading, for your numerous kind words and tens of hundreds of encouraging comments and sharing into WhatsApp Chat groups.

You remember in the last article I wrote to explain how the Last Universal Common Ancestor (LUCA) became alive and living.  It would be great to dive deeper that LUCA isn't necessarily synonymous with the first life form but rather represents the most recent common ancestor of all current life on Earth.

Here’s another version to add on to the other two other accounts I offered earlier: how inanimate LUCA may have sprung alive to begin life on Earth? As best as scientists so far tried to explain, to me even this version is still not very convincing because there is just no way any non-living primordial molecules could become alive on their own unless some unknown  life-giving forces or vital forces that can never be known to science infuse into those dead  molecules to make them automatically began to breathe, feed, excrete,  move, grow, reproduce, respond to stimuli on their own? It is just not possible these molecules could on their own become alive – not in the eyes of science. There must be something outside that commanded them to become alive. There is no other way I can ever think or be able to explain without wanting to bring in God and His spirit as clearly written in the very second verse of Genesis.

  “And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters”.
It is so lucidly clear to me that after all those molecules of life were created by lightning over the oceans as demonstrated in Miller–Urey experiment in 1953, that during the beginning of time, it was the Spirit of God that hovered over those waters to cause all those molecules to spring alive. It was His Spirit that infused life into those molecules of LUKA. There is just no other way to explain using science alone. I think we need to look at this issue holistically. The best explanation I could give is the one I offered earlier here:

The Origin of Mystery of Life Itself (Part 2)

https://scientificlogic.blogspot.com/2024/08/the-origin-of-mystery-of-life-itself.html

Scientific Logic: The Origin of Mystery of Life Itself (Part 2)

Anyway, I am giving another alternative explanation here based on what I read elsewhere which is over 98 % similar to what I wrote earlier except how did LUCA became the first "living" entity?  

LUCA likely arose from a prebiotic world where various organic molecules were forming complex networks of reactions. Here’s a step-by-step explanation of how LUCA might have transitioned from a collection of molecules into a living entity:

First, let’s look at this issue from the angle of prebiotic chemistry. Before LUCA, the Earth had a variety of simple organic molecules, like amino acids, nucleotides, and lipids. These molecules were likely formed through processes like the Miller-Urey experiment, where lightning or other energy sources triggered chemical reactions in a primordial soup of simple compounds.

These organic molecules would have formed more complex structures, such as RNA, proteins, and lipid vesicles, in environments like deep-sea hydrothermal vents or shallow ponds.

Second, is the formation of protocells. Over time, some of these molecules likely became encapsulated in lipid membranes, forming protocells. These protocells weren't yet alive but represented a step toward life by separating their internal chemistry from the external environment. Inside these protocells, RNA molecules could have acted as both information carriers and catalysts, facilitating their own replication and other chemical reactions.

Third, we look at the development of metabolism. A crucial step toward life was the development of a primitive metabolism within these protocells. This would have involved simple chemical cycles that could produce energy or synthesize necessary molecules using available resources.

This early metabolism would have been rudimentary but sufficient to maintain the protocell's internal environment, allowing for growth and replication.

Fourth, the emergence of genetic information in which eventually, these protocells would have evolved more reliable mechanisms for storing and transmitting genetic information. This likely involved the transition from RNA to DNA, as DNA is more stable and can store larger amounts of genetic information. With a stable genetic system in place, protocells could begin to evolve through natural selection, gradually becoming more complex and better adapted to their environment.

Fifth, LUCA was the first "living" entity. LUCA represents the point where these evolving protocells had developed all the fundamental features of life: a cell membrane, a basic metabolism, and a genetic code. LUCA was not the first life form but rather the last common ancestor of all modern life, meaning it was a living, self-replicating, and evolving entity. LUCA likely lived in a specific environment, such as a hydrothermal vent, where it could exploit chemical energy to sustain itself and reproduce.

 Lastly, the descendants of LUCA diversified into the three domains of life we see today: Bacteria, Archaea, and Eukaryotes. Each of these lineages inherited the basic molecular machinery and metabolic pathways that LUCA developed.

In other words, to make this shorter and easier to understand for non-technical readers, LUCA became alive and living through a series of gradual steps from prebiotic chemistry, through the formation of protocells, to the emergence of a simple but functional genetic and metabolic system. LUCA was a fully living organism by the time it appeared, capable of growth, reproduction, and evolution.

Hope this is clearer and easier to understand