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Life May Have Evolved In Ice

Posted by Zonk on from the where-else-would-it-evolve-i-tell-you-not-jersey dept.

Philip Bailey writes "An article in this month's Discover Magazine claims that some of the fundamental organic molecules required for the development of life could have spontaneously arisen within ice. Scientist Stanley Miller was responsible for seminal experiments in the 1950s in this area. He used sparks and a mixture of inorganic chemicals to test his theories, but turned to low temperature experiments in later years. He was able to create the constituents of RNA and proteins from a mixture of cyanide, ammonia and ice in trials lasting up to 25 years. A process known as eutectic freezing is thought to be the basis of these results: small pockets of liquid water, in which foreign molecules are concentrated enormously, increases the reaction rates, and more than compensates for temperature-related slowing."

14 of 159 comments (clear)

  1. Ice... by icegreentea · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Was the earth even cold enough back then to have that much ice? My understanding is that life began about 3 billion years ago, and that Hadean Earth pretty much lasted until then.

    1. Re:Ice... by osu-neko · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Closer to four billion years ago (at least 3.7 billion in any case). And the conclusion here is not that life evolved in ice, but that it may have. It's possible. That has less significance for history on Earth as it does on other worlds...

      --
      "Convictions are more dangerous enemies of truth than lies."
    2. Re:Ice... by radtea · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Was the earth even cold enough back then to have that much ice?

      Possibly.

      One of the ongoing problems in paleobiology is the "early quiet sun". Solar models, which we now know to be extremely accurate based on solar neutrino measurements, show that the sun was considerably dimmer in the distant past. So dim that by any reasonable standard we would expect the Earth to be substantially covered with... ice.

      A mechanism that would cause life to form in an icy environment would give a lot of answers to open questions.

      Google "standard solar model", "early quiet sun" and "Sudbury Neutrino Observatory" for some of the background on this.

      --
      Blasphemy is a human right. Blasphemophobia kills.
    3. Re:Ice... by Skreems · · Score: 4, Funny

      The only result for "early quiet sun" is a hit on some site talking about early Brian Eno recordings...

      --
      Slashdot needs a "-1, Wrong" moderation option.
      The Urban Hippie
    4. Re:Ice... by Rakshasa+Taisab · · Score: 4, Informative

      I believe what you should be searching for is "faint young sun", and I learned about it in my introductory astronomy class so it's not just made up. The sun had about 70% of its current output back then.

      --
      - These characters were randomly selected.
    5. Re:Ice... by repapetilto · · Score: 4, Informative

      I don't think you're getting the beauty of this. There is no need for the involvement of a special animating force, all thats required are the "forces" we already see as behind everything else thats going on at a molecular level (ie electrostatic). Under certain conditions (adsorbing to the ice surface and being in high concentrations in a cold environment) the would-be collection of random atoms assume a more stable state by reacting with each other and eventually forming compounds like adenine.

  2. Reminds me of a classic Robert Frost poem by sweet_petunias_full_ · · Score: 4, Funny


    Some say the world evolved in fire,
    Some say in ice.
    From what I've tasted of desire
    I hold with those who favor fire.
    But if it had to perish twice,
    I think I know enough of hate
    To know that for destruction ice
    Is also great
    And would suffice.

    To be sure, some sparks were still needed for the ice theory but there you have it.

    --
    You can't send a takedown notice to an already printed newspaper.
  3. oblig. by owlnation · · Score: 4, Funny

    I, for one, welcome our new penguin overlords.

    All hail Tux!

  4. Why so few cryophiles? by G4from128k · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Although I can certainly see how the physics of freezing would help concentrate biological precursors, I would expect an icy-origin to have left more evidence in the form of cryophilic biodiversity. With an icy origin, ice-tolerant organisms should have arisen quite early. Indeed they would have probably been the first life forms and ice-adapted life would have been quite common. Unless the Earth experienced a 100% ice-free period, descendants of those original cryophiles would be with us to this day. Moreover, many "normal" species would still arbor a shared genetic basis for evolving ice-tolerance or cryophilic lifestyles.

    Instead, we seem to see limited scattering species that have independently evolved various forms of ice-tolerance. I could be wrong. If so, I'd love to hear if biologists have found evidence for a widely shared mechanism for ice-tolerance that speaks to a frozen beginning.

    --
    Two wrongs don't make a right, but three lefts do.
    1. Re:Why so few cryophiles? by Cassius+Corodes · · Score: 4, Interesting

      That's a very good point - given that the simplest life forms we have found so far (in terms of the length of the dna) are ones that are evolved for normal (ie-non icy) conditions. However its interesting to note that for most bacteria being frozen is not lethal (although I'm not 100% sure on this), rather it just stops doing anything until it thaws and then continues on.

      --
      Control is an illusion, order our comforting lie. From chaos, through chaos, into chaos we fly
    2. Re:Why so few cryophiles? by TapeCutter · · Score: 4, Informative

      So why did you claim that it explains "dry wells refilling", and where is your source for the "everyone is taught this in Europe" claim you made in reply to the other poster?

      It's FUD just like the anti-global warming FUD they have been peddling for the last 20yrs. Here is a random site that debunks the abiotic oil theory, there are many more out there.

      And yes, a "-1 wrong" mod would come in handy, but for this kind of thing a "-1 bullshit" is more appropriate.

      --
      And did you exchange a walk on part in the war for a lead role in a cage? - Pink Floyd.
  5. Some say that life evolved in fire... by lennier · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Some say in ice
    From what I've tasted of desire
    I hold with those who favor fire
    But if it had to bootstrap twice
    I think I know enough of genes
    To say that for mutation ice
    Is also keen
    And would suffice

    --
    You are not a brain: http://books.google.com/books?id=2oV61CeDx-YC
  6. Re:And it might have evolved in a Chicken McNugget by teh+moges · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Knowing where something came from allows more insight into where it is going...

  7. Ice Ice Baby... by fahrbot-bot · · Score: 4, Funny
    He was able to create the constituents of RNA and proteins from a mixture of cyanide, ammonia and ice in trials lasting up to 25 years.

    Another early experiment, in which he added Vanilla to the mix still haunts Professor Miller to this day.

    --
    It must have been something you assimilated. . . .