In the Beginning ...

What was the origin of life on earth? Most biologists believe that it developed in a thin soup of organic compounds dissolved in an ancient sea. Today the seas contain no such stuff; if any is formed, it is at once destroyed by living organisms. But in the days before there were such organisms, molecules of sugars, proteins, etc. might have existed indefinitely. When two of them came in contact, they might join to form a larger molecule. Eventually, so goes the theory, a large, complicated molecule was formed that could grow by absorbing neighboring molecules and could also reproduce itself.

Growth and reproduction are the earmarks of life. But, the biologists ask, did the seas before the beginning of life really contain organic compounds? If so, where did they come from? In last week's issue of Science, a group of University of California scientists headed by W. M. Garrison told about an experiment that casts some light on the questions.

The scientists dissolved a little ferrous sulphate and carbon dioxide in pure water, enclosed it in a specially designed glass cell, and exposed it to a high-energy helium ion beam from a cyclotron. Analysis showed that a little of the carbon dioxide combined with water to produce formic acid and formaldehyde. Scientists have long known that solutions of formaldehyde sometimes turn into sugar.

There were no cyclotrons, of course, when the earth was young and lifeless, but the ocean water probably contained carbon dioxide and a variety of other inorganic chemicals. High-energy radiation from cosmic rays and other sources might have impregnated this virgin solution as it does today. It seems quite possible that it created formaldehyde. Then, in a billion years or so, this simple stuff may have turned into sugars, proteins, and at last into living particles.

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.