The Origin of Complexity

The Genomic Potential Hypothesis A Chemist s View of the Origins, Evolution and Unfolding of Life, by Christian Schwabe. 2001 Eurekah.com 

Bonding orbital disposition and reaction conditions are all that is required, but what to do with that information Can we take these conditions and properties to reconstruct in detail the biogenic path No, and that does not mean that the concept is incorrect but rather that it is not knowable down to sufficient detail by human brainpower. It is not the complexity of data but rather the number of constants and the miniscule difference between them that prevents us from developing life from first principle. Even if we were able to solve the Schrodinger equation it would not get us 

The genomist asserts that this experiment has shown beyond reasonable doubt that chemistry is not a random process The reader, chemist or not, can verify the genomists assertion by counting the atoms in the mixture, (assuming that they are spheres without features) and do a simple probability calculation. The result shows that amino acids and purines and pyrimidines should have occurred at such a low concentration that they would not be detectable with our technology. Carbon, nitro- 

The Miller-Urey apparatus and the primordial puddles have a number of properties in common, namely  

The structure of atoms is known to us in great detail down to the fact that isotopes are not totally equal to the major form of an element. Heavier isotopes react slower in enzyme-catalyzed reactions but they form stronger bonds. No uncertainty is needed for that aspect of our world. Heisenbergs Principle does not pertain to the power fields created by the atomic nuclear structure, but rather to the position of the electrons within these power fields. For the macroscopic world and its chemical basis the position of the power fields (orbitals) is important, and these positions allow carbon, very precisely and very predictably, to give rise to four bonds (or two double bonds as in CO2 or a triple and a single bond as in cyanate) that are stable under a variety of conditions and which allow carbon to form the many and varied polymers that form the skeleton of life. Chemistry does not suffer uncertainty neuroses. 

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The recent developments and ideas in the field of prebiotic chemistry can be combined with the concepts noted here to produce what we regard as a research outline, rather than a detailed hypothesis, directed toward a coherent theory of the origin of complex self-contained, self-replicating chiral assemblies. In what follows we present one possible scenario that is consistent with our current knowledge of chiral induction and amplification and with the nature of early Earth as well as early life. It is exciting that this fundamental question can be formulated in a way that allows systematic experimental testing as we enter the next century. 

GEN. 146. 1. Prigogine, The Origins of Complexity, Opening MERIT, Maastricht, 1988. 

To the genomist the origin of complexity is a matter of coincidence of natural conditions and, wherever those conditions are met, life like ours will arise. 

Another biosynthetic issue is the origin of complex hydrocarbon blends, such as the 11 different tetraenes of Ca. hemipterus (Figure 19.3). While there could be separate biosynthetic systems for each of the Ca. hemipterus tetraenes, a more parsimonious explanation, which fits the data, is that a single biosynthetic system exists with imperfect selectivity for acyl units (Bartelt et al., 1992b). If the most abundant tetraene, 5, represents the normal product, then tetraenes 6,7,14, and 18 represent instances of one acyl substitution (or biosynthetic mistake ). There are six possible ways in which two of these substitutions could exist in one compound, and these are represented by 8,15,16,19,20, and 21. Occurrence of two substitutions would be rarer than just one, and the observed abundances reflected this expectation. Tetraenes with three or four substitutions would be even rarer, and these were not detected. Substitutions were never observed for the second acyl unit, which was unfailingly propionate. Related arguments can be made for the patterns of hydrocarbons in Ca. freemani and Ca. davidsoni (Bartelt et al., 1990b Bartelt and Weisleder, 1996). 

Complexity theory has so far attracted few followers but much criticism. John Maynard Smith, under whom Kauffman did graduate work, complains that the theory is too mathematical and is unconnected to real-life chemistry.14 Although the complaint has merit, Smith offers no solution to the problem which Kauffman identified—the origin of complex systems. 

There are scores of journals devoted to biochemical research. Although JME carries articles concerning molecular evolution exclusively, other journals carry such articles also, mixed in with research on other topics. Perhaps, then, it is a mistake to conclude too much based just on a survey of JME. Perhaps other nonspecialized journals publish research on the origins of complex biochemical systems. To see if JME is simply the wrong place to look, let s take a quick look at a prestigious journal that covers a broad range of biochemical topics the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 

Periodically over the last two decades Margulis and other scientists have proposed that other cellular compartments are the result of symbiosis. These proposals are not so widely accepted. For purposes of argument, however, let s suppose that the symbiosis Margulis envisions was in fact a common occurrence throughout the history of life. The important question for us biochemists is, can symbiosis explain the origin of complex biochemical systems ... 

One would have hoped that finding proteins with similar sequences would lead to the proposal of models for how complex biochemical systems might have developed. Conversely, the fact that such sequence comparisons do not help us understand the origins of complex biochemical systems weighs heavily against a theory of gradual evolution. 

Ken s calculations on catalytic antibodies provide a recent example of the fine way that he utilizes theory to reveal the origins of complex phenomena. His computations have led to the first examples of a quantitative understanding of the role of binding groups on catalysis by antibodies. 

What is the origin of complex oscillatory phenomena in the cAMP signalling system of D. discoideum amoebae There exists but a single self-amplification process in this system, whereas it is the interplay between two instability-generating mechanisms, each based on a... 

The study of the biochemical prototype with multiple regulation throws light on the origin of complex oscillatory behaviour in the model for the cAMP signalling system in both cases two instability-generating mechanisms interact within the same system. For the synthesis of cAMP, the two oscillatory mechanisms are coupled in parallel (fig. 6.25) and share the same positive feedback loop but differ in the process limiting autocatalysis. In each case, complex behaviour appears when conditions are such that the two oscillatory mechanisms are active at the same time. 

It should finally be mentioned that non-covalent interactions are at the origin of complexes or clathrates of C50 and C70 with organic guest molecules like cyclo-dextrins [11,81] and calixarenes [12,82]. 

Goldschmidt VM Geochemical aspects of the origin of complex organic molecules on the Earth, as precusors to organic life. New Biology 1952, 12 97-105. 

If it was unique, then the creation of mitochondria may be as rare as the origin of life. It was the origin of complex life, or the second origin of life. Once it happened, the chemical motor for increasing complexity became the chemistry of oxygen. 

But in the very next essay, Stuart A. Kauffman. .. S. A. Kauffman. Evolution beyond Newton, Darwin, and entailing law The origin of complexity in the evolving biosphere. Chapter 8 in Complexity and the Arrow of Time, ed. by Lineweaver, Davies, and Ruse. 2013, Cambridge University Press, pp. 162-190, quote on p. 179. DOI 10.1017/ CB09781139225700.011. 

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