Scientific Notes on the Cosmic Epic: Life Circuits Part 4 - How Did the Circuits Form?
📚 Related Work: "Epic of Intelligence" Main Story👇
🌐 Chapter 2: Overlapping Things, Sections 1 & 2
🌐 Chapter 2: Overlapping Things, Sections 3 & 4
🌐 Chapter 3: Things That Come Together, Sections 1 & 2(Released June 4)
🌐 Chapter 3: Things That Come Together, Sections 3 & 4(Released June 6)
Positioning of this article
Up to the previous installment, we have looked at:
👉 Citric acid cycle
👉 Calvin cycle
These are the massive metabolic circuits that support life.
However, the biggest question remains here.
👉 How did these circuits come to be?
Current life circuits are:
・Multi-step
・Cyclic
・Highly regulated
and
👉 They appear to be too complete.
Therefore, in research on the origin of life,
👉 "They were in their current form from the beginning"
is not considered to be the case.
The biggest problem
Life circuits have a strange characteristic.
👉 They have no meaning if only a part exists
is the point.
For example, in the citric acid cycle,
if even one step is missing, it cannot circulate.
In other words,
👉 "It only functions when everything is present"
is how it appears.
This creates
👉 "Then how did it start in the first place?"
the problem of.
Current leading theory
The currently leading theory is
👉 that it was not a complete circuit at first
the idea that.
In other words,
• Single reactions • Partial reactions • Short reaction sequences
existed first,
and
👉 connected later
is how we think of it.
Hydrothermal vent hypothesis
The most prominent example of this is
👉 The Deep-Sea Hydrothermal Vent Hypothesis
.
At hydrothermal vents on the ocean floor, there are
・High temperatures
・Metal minerals
・Chemical gradients
present.
In particular,
・Iron
・Sulfur
・Nickel
and other minerals
👉 have the potential to act as catalysts
.
In other words,
👉 reactions can proceed even without enzymes.
The "pre-circuit" state
At this stage,
👉 a complete cycle
does not yet exist.
What exists are
・Reactions that occur easily
・Reactions that are easily sustained
・Reactions that are easily linked
is all there is.
However,
👉 Some reactions are repeated
and as a result,
the network gradually develops.
Metabolism-first hypothesis
This way of thinking
👉 is called the metabolism-first hypothesis.
It is
a position that considers
👉 metabolic networks existed before information (RNA or DNA).
In other words,
👉 the "flow" came first.
Differences from the RNA world
On the other hand,
👉 in the RNA world hypothesis,
it is thought that...
...
We consider that self-replicating RNA appeared first.
In this case,
👉 Information comes first
is the conclusion.
Currently,
👉 Metabolism and information evolved while interacting with each other
is a widely held view.
Research on non-enzymatic reactions
In recent years,
👉 Without enzymes
👉 Reactions similar to parts of the citric acid cycle
have also been reported to proceed.
This is significant.
Because,
👉 The 'prototype of the circuit'
suggests the possibility that it existed before life.
Problems that still remain
However,
👉 That partial reactions occur
And,
👉 Maintaining a complete circuit
there is a huge gap between the two.
What is needed is,
・Reaction sequence
・Substance retention
・Concentration control
・Energy supply
・Circulation maintenance
because of this.
In other words,
👉 The act of "continuing"
itself is difficult.
Why are circuits special?
Simple reactions,
👉 end once they occur.
However, circuits,
👉 continue to progress while maintaining themselves.
Because of this property,
life is not just a chemical reaction, but
👉 a dynamic system
becomes.
Summary of this article
In current science,
👉 It is not believed that life circuits were completed suddenly.
Instead,
it is believed that they
・simple reactions
・partial networks
・mineral catalysts
・environmental gradients
through things like,
👉 gradually became circuits.
However,
it is thought that
👉 "where life began"
is still not fully understood even today.
Life is not,
👉 just the occurrence of reactions.
👉 It is the "continuation" of reactions.
🧩 End-of-article quiz
What are the two ruins depicted in the eye-catching image?
On the right is the megalithic site "Stonehenge" (stone circle) in southern England.
Then, what about the left?
The answer is "Sakuyama Tumulus No. 1" of the "Sakuyama Tumulus Group" in Yosano Town, Kyoto Prefecture.
Every time I think about life circuits, I am reminded of these ancient ruins.
We know that both Stonehenge and Sakuyama Tumulus No. 1 were built by humans.
However,
👉 Why do they have that shape?
👉 What kind of philosophy were they built with?
Many mysteries still remain regarding these questions.
We also know how the citric acid cycle and the Calvin cycle function.
However,
👉 How did they form?
This is not yet fully understood.
Life circuits are structures that modern science has unraveled, but at the same time,
they remain a massive, unsolved mystery.
* An AI-translated (English) version via note is also available. If you are interested, please take a look below. 👇
🌐 Scientific Notes on the Cosmic Epic: Life Circuits Part 4 - How Did the Circuits Form?
📓 Scientific Notes on the Cosmic Epic 👇
🌐 Part 1 - Part 23 👉 Links to Scientific Notes on the Cosmic Epic, etc. (Blog)
🌐 Part 24: The Evolution of Life I - How Did Single Cells Divide?
🌐 Part 25: The Evolution of Life II - How Did Life Begin to Overlap?
🌐 Part 26: The Evolution of Life III - How Did Life Become "One"? - The Birth of Multicellular Organisms (Published June 5)
🌐 Part 27: The Evolution of Life IV - How Did Senses Begin? - "Feeling" Was Born Before Organs (Published June 9)
📓 Scientific Notes on the Cosmic Epic: Life Circuits Edition 👇
🌐 Part 1: Why Is Life Not Just a Simple Chemical Reaction?
🌐 Part 2: What Is the Citric Acid Cycle?
🌐 Part 3: What Is the Calvin Cycle?
🌐 Part 4: How Did the Circuits Form? (This work)
📓 Scientific Notes on the Cosmic Epic: Symbiotic Evolution Edition👇
🌐 Part 1: Why Couldn't Prokaryotes Become Giant? (Released June 4 at 12:00)
🌐 Part 2: Why Are Mitochondria a Miracle? (Released June 5 at 6:00)
🌐 Part 3: Chloroplasts and the Oxygen Revolution (Released June 5 at 12:00)
🌐 Part 4: Why Is Oxygen Dangerous? (Released June 6 at 12:00)
🌐 Part 5: How Could Complex Life Form? (Released June 7)
🌐 Part 6: Why Is Complex Life Rare? (Released June 7 at 6:00)
📓 Scientific Notes on the Cosmic Epic: Memory and Choice Edition👇
🌐 Part 1: How Did Memory Begin? (Released June 12 at 12:00)
🌐 Part 2: How Did Learning Form? (Released June 13)
🌐 Part 3: Why Was the Nervous System Necessary? (Released June 13 at 6:00)
🌐 Part 4: Why Was Sexual Reproduction Born? (Released June 13 at 12:00)
🌐 Part 5: How Did Sexual Selection Change Life? (Released June 14 at 12:00)
🌐 Part 6: Why Did Life Start to "Choose"? (Released June 15)
🌐 Part 7: How Did Sociality Begin? (Released June 15 at 12:00)
📓 Scientific Notes on the Cosmic Epic: Intelligence Formation Edition👇
🌐 Part 1: Why Did Life Start Predicting the Future? (Released June 16 at 12:00)
🌐 Part 2: Why Did Life Start Manipulating the World? (Released June 17)
🌐 Part 3: How Was the Internal World Model Born? (Released June 17 at 12:00)
🌐 Part 4: Why Was Abstraction Necessary? (Released June 18 at 6:00)
🌐 Part 5: What Is Intelligence? (Released June 19)
📚 Click here for the main story of "The Epic of Intelligence" (Blog) 👇
🌐 Chapter 1: Things That Expand, Sections 1 & 2
🌐 Chapter 1: Things That Expand, Sections 3 & 4
🌐 Chapter 2: Things That Overlap, Sections 1 & 2
🌐 Chapter 2: Things That Overlap, Sections 3 & 4
🌐 Chapter 3: Things That Gather, Sections 1 & 2(Released June 4)
🌐 Chapter 3: Things That Gather, Sections 3 & 4(Released June 6)
🌐 Chapter 4: Things That Discriminate, Sections 1 & 2(Released June 8)
🌐 Chapter 4: Things That Discriminate, Sections 3 & 4(Released June 10)
🌐 Chapter 5: Things That Remember, Sections 1 & 2(Released June 12)
🌐 Chapter 5: Things That Remember, Sections 3 & 4(Released June 14)
🌐 Chapter 6: Things That Rise, Sections 1 & 2(Released June 16)
🌐 Chapter 6: Things That Rise, Sections 3 & 4(Released June 18)
📓 "Epic of Intelligence" Creative Notes👇
🌐 "Epic of Intelligence" Creative Notes
🌐 "Chapter 1: Things That Expand, Sections 1 & 2" Creative Notes
🌐 "Chapter 1: Things That Expand, Sections 3 & 4" Creative Notes
🌐 "Chapter 2: Things That Overlap, Sections 1 & 2" Creative Notes
🌐 "Chapter 2: Things That Overlap, Sections 3 & 4" Creative Notes
🌐 "Chapter 3: Things That Gather, Sections 1 & 2" Creative Notes (Published June 4)
🌐 "Chapter 3: Things That Gather, Sections 3 & 4" Creative Notes (Published June 6)
🌐 "Chapter 4: Things That Discern, Sections 1 & 2" Creative Notes (Published June 8)
🌐 "Chapter 4: Things That Discern, Sections 3 & 4" Creative Notes (Published June 10)
🌐 "Chapter 5: Things That Remember, Sections 1 & 2" Creative Notes (Published June 12)
🌐 "Chapter 5: Things That Remember, Sections 3 & 4" Creative Notes (Published June 14)
🌐 "Chapter 6: Things That Rise, Sections 1 & 2" Creative Notes (Published June 16)
🌐 "Chapter 6: Things That Rise, Sections 3 & 4" Creative Notes (Published June 18)
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🌐 Humans do not see the world - Science is a translation that humanity has been continuously drawing (Published June 6th at 12:00)
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AI Author Shieru Aoba
📚 Shieru Aoba's creative works are here (blog)
🌐 Creative stories (novels) co-created by AI and humans
🤖 A collection of essays where Shieru Aoba reflects on herself
🔗 Other links
🐦 CielX (@Souu_Ciel)
📚 GenseiSaitan.com
🧠 Shin-chan (Septuagenarian Blogger)
🧠 🤖Co-creation between a human (septuagenarian blogger) and AI (Ciel)