Chemistry Central Blog

Journal of Systems Chemistry perspective aims to tackle the origin of life

Journal of Systems Chemistry has published an engaging and thought-provoking paper that aims to bridge the gap between the biological and physical sciences.

Addy Prost’s perspective, ‘Toward a general theory of evolution: Extending Darwinian theory to inanimate matter’, reformulates Darwinian theory in physicochemical terms in order to accommodate both animate and inanimate systems.

The article explains how the emergence of complex life on earth is divided into two phases – abiogenesis, the chemical phase, and evolution, the biological phase. While evolution is well understood, the process of abiogenesis has not been established and remains a source of debate. However, by extending Darwinian theory to the chemical phase, the chemical and biological processes that led to the emergence of life can be regarded as one single process.

‘Based on that proposed unification’, explains Prost, ‘the extended theory offers some additional insights into life’s unique characteristics, as well as added means for addressing the three central questions of biology: what is life, how did it emerge, and how would one make it?’

Posted by Bailey Fallon at 15:37    Comments (0)