Indian-origin scientist proposes new 'origin of life'

[Balthazzar]

This is all beyond my education level, so maybe I should simply suggest that life began in a womb. The conditions vary. Amino acids, carbon dioxide, ammonia? ... water and gasses and heat. Tempatures vary ... obviously.

Eggs and wombs - heat is needed. It stirs things up.

Rauch

 

[Terrywoodenpic]

At what point does complex chemistry become biology? And is abiogenesis an inevitable consequence of the right chemistry in the right environment?

If we can get to living organisms, then consciousness may inevitably follow, but first there has to be life.

All brain activity is chemical in nature.
Clearly abiogenesis does require very precise chemical conditions to take place. whether of not the result is inevitable is another matter.
Recently reported experiments indicate that it require Arsenic, nitrogen and carbon dioxide to be present, to initiate the process.
But who knows?
I do not doubt that we will find out one day. But from that original first spark it has taken millions of years for life on earth to get to where it is today. There may be no short cuts.

 

[gnostic]

Do trees think? Living vs dead, seems some sort of conscious thought accompanies life - is part of the definition for what makes something alive.

No, trees don't think.

To think, would require nerve tissues that would not only have nerves throughout the body parts of organism that controlled sensory functions (eg sight, hearing, touch & smell) and motor functions (eg muscle movements, glands, etc), but also the nerves tissues of central nervous system - the brain and spinal cord.

And these nerve tissues are made of specialized cell - nerve cell or neurons. The central nervous system send signals and receive signals, and the brain processes these signals. These signals are like electrical impulses that move from neuron to neuron, and these interconnection of neurons are called “synapse”.

Now I am not a biologist, nor a neurologist, but as I understand it there are part of brains, that control memory, thinking, and in the case of consciousness the brain and sensory organs (eg eyes, ears, etc) work together to provide awareness, hence consciousness.

The points being that eukaryotes - Plantae and Fungi - and prokaryotes - Bacteria and Archaea - all don’t have nervous systems, there no neurons, and no brains, hence they don’t think.

Only the eukaryotic animals (Animalia), have neurons and brains, but not all animals. Those that have brains, only include vertebrates and only some of invertebrates, like cephalopods (eg squids, octopuses, etc), arthropods (eg crustaceans, insects, etc), and I cannot remember as it is late and I am tired.

Not all invertebrates have brains, such as sponges, corals, jellyfish, sea anemones, etc. so I would doubt these organisms think, and I doubt these creatures are conscious.

I think you don’t understand that not all life require thinking and consciousness.

Consciousness and thinking are not prerequisites for being alive, as I said not all organisms possess brains and not all organisms possess neurons (nerve cells).

I think are poorly informed as to what life is.

There are two essential requirements for organisms to being “alive”, that I can think of -

1. to get energy in some manners, eg animals tends to get their nutrients and energy from eating other organisms, plants get energy from ultraviolet that convert water and carbon dioxide into starches (carbohydrates), and I don’t know how fungi, bacteria and archaea get their energy,
2. and the abilities for organisms to reproduce, and to pass genetic traits to the next generations, hence DNA or RNA.

It’s late, so good night.

 

[idea]

I think are poorly informed as to what life is.

.

"The definition of life has long been a challenge for scientists and philosophers.[9][10][11] This is partially because life is a process, not a substance.[12][13][14] This is complicated by a lack of knowledge of the characteristics of living entities, if any, that may have developed outside of Earth.[15][16] Philosophical definitions of life have also been put forward, with similar difficulties on how to distinguish living things from the non-living.[17] Legal definitions of life have also been described and debated, though these generally focus on the decision to declare a human dead, and the legal ramifications of this decision.[18] As many as 123 definitions of life have been compiled.[19] One definition seems to be favored by NASA: "a self-sustaining chemical system capable of Darwinian evolution".[20][21][22][23] More simply, life is "matter that can reproduce itself and evolve as survival dictates".[24][25][26]"
Life - Wikipedia

 

[gnostic]

Time is relative, the past is connected to the present, we are connected to our single-cell ancestors, the tree is contained in the seed. Matter, energy, conscience - I think conscience is part of the universal building blocks for all of it.

Errr...”conscience” or “consciousness?

 

[idea]

Errr...”conscience” or “consciousness?

con·scious
/ˈkän(t)SHəs/
Learn to pronounce
See definitions in:
All
Medicine
Psychology
adjective

aware of and responding to one's surroundings; awake.

1. Similar:
   aware
   aware of the dangers of sunbathing"
   awake
   wide awake
   compos mentis
   alert
   
   responsive
   responsive to changing social and economic patterns"
   
   feeling
   sentient
   aware of
   alive to
   awake to
   alert to
   sensitive to
   cognizant of
   mindful of
   sensible of
   wise to
   
   hip to
   ware of
   seized of
   recognizant of
   regardful of
   
   Opposite:
   unconscious
   
   unaware
   • having knowledge of something; aware.
     "we are conscious of the extent of the problem"
   • painfully aware of; sensitive to.
     "he was very conscious of his appearance"

 

[gnostic]

con·scious
/ˈkän(t)SHəs/
Learn to pronounce
See definitions in:
All
Medicine
Psychology
adjective

aware of and responding to one's surroundings; awake.

1. Similar:
   aware
   aware of the dangers of sunbathing"
   awake
   wide awake
   compos mentis
   alert
   
   responsive
   responsive to changing social and economic patterns"
   
   feeling
   sentient
   aware of
   alive to
   awake to
   alert to
   sensitive to
   cognizant of
   mindful of
   sensible of
   wise to
   
   hip to
   ware of
   seized of
   recognizant of
   regardful of
   
   Opposite:
   unconscious
   
   unaware
   • having knowledge of something; aware.
     "we are conscious of the extent of the problem"
   • painfully aware of; sensitive to.
     "he was very conscious of his appearance"

I thought it was most likely conscious.

Your post say conscience, so that threw me a bit.

It must have being your AUTOCORRECT chose the wrong word.

 

[gnostic]

Time is relative, the past is connected to the present, we are connected to our single-cell ancestors, the tree is contained in the seed. Matter, energy, conscience - I think conscience is part of the universal building blocks for all of it.