Driving forces in the origins of life
Ken A. Dill, Luca Agozzino
Abstract
What were the physico-chemical forces that drove the origins of life? We discuss four major prebiotic 'discoveries': persistent sampling of chemical reaction space; sequence-encodable foldable catalysts; assembly of functional pathways; and encapsulation and heritability. We describe how a 'proteins-first' world gives plausible mechanisms. We note the importance of hydrophobic and polar compositions of matter in these advances.
Topics & Concepts
BiologyHeritabilityAbiogenesisEvolutionary biologyPrebioticBiological evolutionChemical spaceSequence (biology)Computational biologyGeneticsBioinformaticsDrug discoveryOrigins and Evolution of LifePhotoreceptor and optogenetics researchProtein Structure and Dynamics