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‘What is the origin of life?

’ it’s one of the most fundamental and difficult questions that has challenged us since the dawn of time. How did life, nearly 4 billion years ago, emerge on what was once a barren planet? Throughout history different people have come up with their own explanations, some mythical, some literal. But for the past 50 years scientists have embarked on a remarkable quest to answer this most difficult puzzle. Naked Science delves deep into the debate to try and get a step closer the answering the ultimate question… how did life begin?

Creating life had been the stuff of science fiction until a bold experiment in 1953 changed everything. Stanley Miller set out to re-create the conditions of the earth in his famous experiment. Within a week, he had produced a ‘molecular soup’ containing amino acids, the building blocks of life. Scientists’ imaginations were captivated by the outcome of the experiment. Perhaps science could answer the great question of how life began!

There have been many different debates on how life began. Whilst Miller was trying to solve the puzzle from the bottom up, starting with basic chemistry; others are attacking the problem from the top down by looking at what the first living organisms were like. Stromatalites fossils, like those found in Australia are 3.5 billion years old and are the oldest evidence of life on earth. They hold vital clues in understanding the characteristics of the first living organism. Understanding these characteristics has taken some scientist to the extreme, such as the Bolivian Andes. This land 14,000 ft high, with its high radiation levels and boiling hot geezers is a harsh environment- yet life still flourishes! Conditions on the early earth were much more server yet life somehow started. By studding microbes that survive in these extremes it might help us understand a little more about the microbes that gave birth to all life on earth- the common ancestor

But how did the common ancestor form? How did we get from non-living to living? A new generation of scientists believe the ember of life might not have been forged on Earth but in outer space, a theory called Panspermia. One argument is that life began inside comets and then spread to habitable planets across the galaxy. However, others believe that it was not life itself that was delivered to the early earth via comets but the building blocks of life- the components for which you might be able to make a living system. In 1999 NASA launched a probe, known as Stardust. Its aim was to intercept a comet 260 million miles away and return the samples back to earth. Scientists were astonished to find that within the tiny dust particles, there was complex organic chemistry- crucial for creating life. Another theory takes us from the blackness of space to the deep ocean floor. Cut off from sunlight, deep along the ocean floor an incredible world thrives- there only source of energy, hydrothermal vents. Scientist realised that if life could survive here maybe it could have arisen here too. Not only was it a safe environment compared to the volatile surface of early earth but recent experiments that stimulate the high pressure & high temperature environment have found that chemical are highly reactive in these conditions and create an abundance of organic chemicals. Simple reactions could have driven more complex molecules and eventually created the first living cell on the planet.

Scientist trying to unwrap the puzzle of how life began have certainly proved one thing- life is a very complex process that no one yet fully understands. Some pioneering scientists have decided to take another approach- they have given themselves the task of creating life in a lab! They hope to create a working cell from simple building blocks that will ultimately replicate and pass on genes from one generation to the next. Once that happens; evolution can start. This re-engineered life form, known as ‘Life 2.0’ has further implications beyond our widest dreams. As well as bringing a new era of exciting possibilities it will enlighten our understanding about the inner workings of a living system and brings us closer to answering the great question of how life began?