The Chemical Evolution of Life – Ten Problems Without A Solu
Feb 17, 2019 13:04:51 GMT -6
Post by Stephen Senne on Feb 17, 2019 13:04:51 GMT -6
In 1953, scientists Stanley Miller and Harold Urey at the University of Chicago, conducted an experiment to simulate conditions for the evolution of amino acids and subsequently simple life itself. They mixed methane, ammonia, water vapor, and hydrogen gasses and then subjected the mix to electric sparks in a special apparatus. The idea of the experiment was to create a primordial soup and see what would happen. This was cutting edge evolutionary science at its finest. Would the molecules for life be created? Would simple life itself develop? Would chemical evolution (abiogenesis) be proven true?
In 1953 news of the Miller-Urey experiment rocked the world. The basic components of life had been created by an evolutionary process. The event was heralded as virtual proof of chemical evolution. News coverage was so positive that some people were led to believe life itself had been created in the laboratory. This gave a major push to the evolution movement.
Another event heralded in 1953 was the discovery of the structure of DNA. Some consider this discovery to be the beginning of modern biology. Since then the secrets of life have slowly emerged due to intense scientific research. Science has begun to understand the enormous complexity of life. The smallest single-celled life is mind-boggling in its complexity. This complexity has raised serious doubts about the ability of a primordial soup to produce life.
The Miller-Urey experiment and additional similar experiments have been conducted numerous times since 1953. Amino acids continue to be formed. With modification of the experiment, some nucleic acid bases found within DNA have been formed. No complete proteins, DNA, or life or significant portions of the materials necessary for life have been found.
Research within the last fifty years has considerably dampened the initial enthusiasm generated by the Miller-Urey experiment. Objective scientists question the ability of an entire earth filled with primordial soup to evolve life. Ten major problems with chemical evolution include:
Over 500 different amino acids have been discovered in the world today. Plant and animal life as we know it today only use 20 of those amino acids, called essential amino acids. Any nonessential amino acids or molecules created in a primordial soup would have to be kept out of the protein building process. Incorrect amino acids or molecules will destroy a protein chain. There is no known naturalistic process capable of separating the 20 essential amino acids from the remaining non-required material in an ocean of primordial soup.
When amino acids are created by the Miller-Urey process, both left and right-handed amino acids are produced in equal amounts. Life, as we know it today, consists only of left-handed amino acids. For a functioning protein to form correctly, all right-handed amino acids must be kept out of the protein chain. There is no known naturalistic process that can completely separate all right and left-handed amino acids. No plausible naturalistic process has been developed capable of separating these amino acids in a churning ocean of primordial soup.
Proteins range in size from about 50 amino acids to 1500 amino acids. The amino acids in a protein are in a specific sequence similar to links in a chain. Each amino acid in a protein must be in the exact order. One or two amino acids not in the proper order can seriously degrade the function of the protein. There is no naturalistic process capable of arranging these amino acids in the proper order. Statistical analysis of even a simple 100 amino acid protein shows it will not occur due to random combination. A single 100 amino acid protein made from an equal mixture of the 20 basic right and left-hand amino acids has a small probability of one in 1.6 x 10160 of occurring by chance. This exceeds the universal probability boundary of 1 x 10150. So if the entire universe consisted of only the 20 essential amino acids, the proper combination would not occur.
With an ocean of primordial soup filled with amino acids capable of combining into proteins, there is no mechanism to control when a protein should stop growing, continue growing, add proper amino acids or discard wrong amino acids. This results in chemical chaos. The same can be said of DNA and other complex organic molecules. In general, all molecules in a primordial soup would be subject to uncontrolled combination or disintegration.
The basic Miller-Urey experiment and modifications of that experiment have developed some of the basic molecules of life. It has been discovered that materials and process conditions (temperature, water, no water, no oxygen, specific elements) can be quite different for the formation of these different molecules. These different requirements present major problems for their simultaneous occurrence under naturalistic conditions.
One of the critical parts of a single-celled organism is its membrane. Membranes occur in the outer cell wall and around the nucleus. Cellular membrane is composed of molecules that let nutrients into the cell but yet keep harmful materials out. The membrane is made of thousands of molecules, many of the same type and some very specialized, arranged together to protect the cell. There is no naturalistic process capable of making thousands of identical copies of the same molecule and then arranging them together to form a cell membrane. Likewise, no process exists for making specialized molecules which act as coded doors to allow specific large molecules to enter the cell.
DNA consists of a spiral structure similar to a spiral staircase. Each step of the staircase is called a base pair and represents a bit of information. DNA contains the information for life, and life as we know it is impossible without it. The simplest independent organism is currently considered Mycoplasma gentalium with approximately 470 genes and 580,000 DNA base pairs. There is no known naturalistic process that can create this amount of information. This is equivalent to having a book with 580,000 characters happen by chance.
The nucleus of a cell contains the DNA. When a cell divides, complex mechanisms within the cell rapidly duplicate the DNA so the new cell has an identical copy of the parent cell DNA. There is no known naturalistic process that could have developed this copying mechanism within the cell. One of the hypothetical ironies of chemical evolution is that a single-celled organism evolves and then life dies out because it cannot reproduce.
If all of the thousands of components of a cell evolved simultaneously in an ocean of primordial soup, there is no known naturalistic mechanism to collect these components in one location for possible assembly of a cell. Without damaging any of the components, transportation from the far corners of the earth to a spot smaller than a pinhead would be required.
If all of the components of a cell were collected in one location, there is no known naturalistic mechanism that could assemble these in the correct order to make a functioning organism. This is similar to having all the parts to a 747 airplane spread out on a football field. The individual parts don't make an airplane. They must be assembled in the correct sequence and relationship to function.
These ten major problems only represent the tip of the ice burg with regard to difficulties in explaining how life could not have arisen from an ocean of primordial soup. Scientists disdain use of the word impossible when describing the probability of an event in order to avoid the appearance of being dogmatic. However, it can be said that with our current knowledge of naturalistic processes and of our understanding of the requirements for life, it is impossible for life to have evolved naturalistically from a primordial soup.
In March of 1989, Dr. Stanley Pons and Dr. Martin Fleischmann at the University of Utah announced they had run an experiment where they observed cold fusion. The experiment consisted of using a battery to pass an electric current through two palladium electrodes immersed in a beaker of heavy water. The electrolysis of the water allegedly resulted in the fusion of hydrogen atoms and the production of excess energy. Immediately after the announcement, debate raged for several years over the validity of his experiment and the promise of cold fusion.
The theory of cold fusion has a strong philosophical appeal. It would be a great thing to have. The theory was not proven, however, and after millions of dollars in investment, multiple experiments, eight international conferences, and volumes of discussion, cold fusion died a slow death. The primary problem was that the results could not be verified by experiment. The process simply did not work. No excess energy was produced. Believers in cold fusion say this does not disprove the theory but only that it could not be made to work with our current scientific understanding. Regardless of the arguments used, the process could not be verified. Without verifiability, the theory becomes a philosophical concept and nothing more.
The state of cold fusion theory is similar to the existing state of chemical evolution. Evolutionary science has reached a dead end. Chemical evolution cannot be verified by creating life experimentally. Life is simply too complex to have evolved. Chemical evolution does not work. Regardless of the clever ideas, arguments or excuses, the process cannot be duplicated.
Philosophical naturalism fleshed out as chemical evolution will continue to be a popular idea. Ideas, conjecture, and speculation will continue to flow from the pens of scientists and writers dedicated to the philosophical belief that evolution must be true. Dogmatic belief will continue to triumph over evidence and experimentation. However, any belief without a viable engine will eventually slow and stop. Philosophical inertia will only drive an idea so far. A hundred years from now, evolution will be looked upon as a popular philosophically driven idea of the twentieth century that lost favor in the light of scientific advance.
I am not the author of this but please email me if you would like to talk about it or if you have any questions. Stephen.Senne@gmail.com 816-694-1706.
In 1953 news of the Miller-Urey experiment rocked the world. The basic components of life had been created by an evolutionary process. The event was heralded as virtual proof of chemical evolution. News coverage was so positive that some people were led to believe life itself had been created in the laboratory. This gave a major push to the evolution movement.
Another event heralded in 1953 was the discovery of the structure of DNA. Some consider this discovery to be the beginning of modern biology. Since then the secrets of life have slowly emerged due to intense scientific research. Science has begun to understand the enormous complexity of life. The smallest single-celled life is mind-boggling in its complexity. This complexity has raised serious doubts about the ability of a primordial soup to produce life.
The Miller-Urey experiment and additional similar experiments have been conducted numerous times since 1953. Amino acids continue to be formed. With modification of the experiment, some nucleic acid bases found within DNA have been formed. No complete proteins, DNA, or life or significant portions of the materials necessary for life have been found.
Research within the last fifty years has considerably dampened the initial enthusiasm generated by the Miller-Urey experiment. Objective scientists question the ability of an entire earth filled with primordial soup to evolve life. Ten major problems with chemical evolution include:
1. Lack of Molecular Separation
Over 500 different amino acids have been discovered in the world today. Plant and animal life as we know it today only use 20 of those amino acids, called essential amino acids. Any nonessential amino acids or molecules created in a primordial soup would have to be kept out of the protein building process. Incorrect amino acids or molecules will destroy a protein chain. There is no known naturalistic process capable of separating the 20 essential amino acids from the remaining non-required material in an ocean of primordial soup.
2. Lack of Chiral Differentiation
When amino acids are created by the Miller-Urey process, both left and right-handed amino acids are produced in equal amounts. Life, as we know it today, consists only of left-handed amino acids. For a functioning protein to form correctly, all right-handed amino acids must be kept out of the protein chain. There is no known naturalistic process that can completely separate all right and left-handed amino acids. No plausible naturalistic process has been developed capable of separating these amino acids in a churning ocean of primordial soup.
3. Lack of a Sequencing Mechanism
Proteins range in size from about 50 amino acids to 1500 amino acids. The amino acids in a protein are in a specific sequence similar to links in a chain. Each amino acid in a protein must be in the exact order. One or two amino acids not in the proper order can seriously degrade the function of the protein. There is no naturalistic process capable of arranging these amino acids in the proper order. Statistical analysis of even a simple 100 amino acid protein shows it will not occur due to random combination. A single 100 amino acid protein made from an equal mixture of the 20 basic right and left-hand amino acids has a small probability of one in 1.6 x 10160 of occurring by chance. This exceeds the universal probability boundary of 1 x 10150. So if the entire universe consisted of only the 20 essential amino acids, the proper combination would not occur.
4. Lack of Controlled Combination
With an ocean of primordial soup filled with amino acids capable of combining into proteins, there is no mechanism to control when a protein should stop growing, continue growing, add proper amino acids or discard wrong amino acids. This results in chemical chaos. The same can be said of DNA and other complex organic molecules. In general, all molecules in a primordial soup would be subject to uncontrolled combination or disintegration.
5. Unique Process Requirements
The basic Miller-Urey experiment and modifications of that experiment have developed some of the basic molecules of life. It has been discovered that materials and process conditions (temperature, water, no water, no oxygen, specific elements) can be quite different for the formation of these different molecules. These different requirements present major problems for their simultaneous occurrence under naturalistic conditions.
6. Lack of a Duplication Process
One of the critical parts of a single-celled organism is its membrane. Membranes occur in the outer cell wall and around the nucleus. Cellular membrane is composed of molecules that let nutrients into the cell but yet keep harmful materials out. The membrane is made of thousands of molecules, many of the same type and some very specialized, arranged together to protect the cell. There is no naturalistic process capable of making thousands of identical copies of the same molecule and then arranging them together to form a cell membrane. Likewise, no process exists for making specialized molecules which act as coded doors to allow specific large molecules to enter the cell.
7. Lack of Vital Information
DNA consists of a spiral structure similar to a spiral staircase. Each step of the staircase is called a base pair and represents a bit of information. DNA contains the information for life, and life as we know it is impossible without it. The simplest independent organism is currently considered Mycoplasma gentalium with approximately 470 genes and 580,000 DNA base pairs. There is no known naturalistic process that can create this amount of information. This is equivalent to having a book with 580,000 characters happen by chance.
8. Lack of a Reproduction Mechanism
The nucleus of a cell contains the DNA. When a cell divides, complex mechanisms within the cell rapidly duplicate the DNA so the new cell has an identical copy of the parent cell DNA. There is no known naturalistic process that could have developed this copying mechanism within the cell. One of the hypothetical ironies of chemical evolution is that a single-celled organism evolves and then life dies out because it cannot reproduce.
9. Lack of a Transport Mechanism
If all of the thousands of components of a cell evolved simultaneously in an ocean of primordial soup, there is no known naturalistic mechanism to collect these components in one location for possible assembly of a cell. Without damaging any of the components, transportation from the far corners of the earth to a spot smaller than a pinhead would be required.
10. Lack of an Assembly Process
If all of the components of a cell were collected in one location, there is no known naturalistic mechanism that could assemble these in the correct order to make a functioning organism. This is similar to having all the parts to a 747 airplane spread out on a football field. The individual parts don't make an airplane. They must be assembled in the correct sequence and relationship to function.
These ten major problems only represent the tip of the ice burg with regard to difficulties in explaining how life could not have arisen from an ocean of primordial soup. Scientists disdain use of the word impossible when describing the probability of an event in order to avoid the appearance of being dogmatic. However, it can be said that with our current knowledge of naturalistic processes and of our understanding of the requirements for life, it is impossible for life to have evolved naturalistically from a primordial soup.
In March of 1989, Dr. Stanley Pons and Dr. Martin Fleischmann at the University of Utah announced they had run an experiment where they observed cold fusion. The experiment consisted of using a battery to pass an electric current through two palladium electrodes immersed in a beaker of heavy water. The electrolysis of the water allegedly resulted in the fusion of hydrogen atoms and the production of excess energy. Immediately after the announcement, debate raged for several years over the validity of his experiment and the promise of cold fusion.
The theory of cold fusion has a strong philosophical appeal. It would be a great thing to have. The theory was not proven, however, and after millions of dollars in investment, multiple experiments, eight international conferences, and volumes of discussion, cold fusion died a slow death. The primary problem was that the results could not be verified by experiment. The process simply did not work. No excess energy was produced. Believers in cold fusion say this does not disprove the theory but only that it could not be made to work with our current scientific understanding. Regardless of the arguments used, the process could not be verified. Without verifiability, the theory becomes a philosophical concept and nothing more.
The state of cold fusion theory is similar to the existing state of chemical evolution. Evolutionary science has reached a dead end. Chemical evolution cannot be verified by creating life experimentally. Life is simply too complex to have evolved. Chemical evolution does not work. Regardless of the clever ideas, arguments or excuses, the process cannot be duplicated.
Philosophical naturalism fleshed out as chemical evolution will continue to be a popular idea. Ideas, conjecture, and speculation will continue to flow from the pens of scientists and writers dedicated to the philosophical belief that evolution must be true. Dogmatic belief will continue to triumph over evidence and experimentation. However, any belief without a viable engine will eventually slow and stop. Philosophical inertia will only drive an idea so far. A hundred years from now, evolution will be looked upon as a popular philosophically driven idea of the twentieth century that lost favor in the light of scientific advance.
I am not the author of this but please email me if you would like to talk about it or if you have any questions. Stephen.Senne@gmail.com 816-694-1706.