BS1001/CY1001

Introduction to Biology
Lecture 1
School
S
h l off Biological
Bi l i l Sciences
S i
Nanyang Technological University

8 August 2011

Lecturer
Professor Alex Law

Tutorials

Donna Tan
Ou Sirong
Ravishankar Chandrasekaran
Teo Zi Qiang

Laboratory Assistants
Chen Xi
Guan Siyu
Mukesh Mahajan
Shubhadra Pillay
Tan Jiazi
Tay Qi Xiang Martin
W
Wang
Qi
Zenita Adhireksan
Zhang Qiaoyun
2

Approach of the BSc degree in SBS@NTU:

Understanding biology at the molecular level

Confucius said:
"To learn without thinking, one will be lost.
To think without learning,
learning one will be imperilled
imperilled."
NTU Blue Ribbons Commission cover page

Remember: this is y
your first University
y course,,
emphasis on self-learning, and thinking
3

Knowledge Acquisition
Understanding throughThinking
Learning
ea
g tthrough
oug Curiosity
Cu os ty and
a d Enthusiasm
t us as
Understanding by putting the facts together there are more
than one way
Research may be generalized to tackling of new problems where
standard answers, or solutions, do not exist.
If we knew what it was we were doing
doing, it would not be called
If
research, would it? Albert Einstein
There is no distinct boundaries between the different
disciplines in science.
science
All information should be qualified with a ?, some with a BIG
one, some with a small one. The size of the ? should be
modified
difi d according
di to
t new information
i f
ti
available.
il bl
4

50% of what we learn in University is useless, unfortunately

we do not know which 50%. William Brody (President of the
Salk Institute) in a Public Lecture at NTU

What was right yesterday is wrong today,

what is right
g today
y will be wrong
g
tomorrow. George Wald (1906-1997, Nobel
Laureate 1968, Professor at Harvard) in
response to a comment by a junior faculty
member that he was giving the out
out-of-date
of date
information in a lecture to the first year
undergraduates.

Half the things a man knows at 20 are no longer true at 40, and
half the things he knows at 40 hadnt been discovered when he
was 20
20. Sir Arthur C Clarke (1917-2008,
(1917 2008 science and science
fiction writer).
5

Textbook:

Biology 9th Edition:

Revan, Johnson, Mason, Losos, and Singer
McGraw-Hill, International Edition

There are MANY others clones of each other!

Popular science books, e.g. The Double Helix by James Watson
How to study? Or How to do well in the course?
Read the assigned Chapters in Raven, or the equivalent subject
in other textbooks before you come to Lecture
Lectures will be recorded, but they are not really the same. A lecture is
much more of a dialogue than many of you probably realize. As you
lecture, you keep watching the faces, and information keeps coming back
to you all the time.
time (George Wald)
Work on your tutorial questions BEFORE you attend tutorials. It is
NOT the same as looking at formal answers which will be posted.
Some of the questions, or their variation, will appear on exams or quiz.
6

Attend the Practicals:

Please hand in your reports within one week.
It really should be two days.
days
You have to do it anyway.
You will remember more when you do it fresh.

CA marks (40%)
A mid-term quiz and two lab reports.
reports
Participate in the Discussion Board. I will answer your queries.
Additional CA points may be given if you post an interesting
question, or make an interesting point. Please always put your
name and Matriculation Number when you post anything so that
I can know who you are.
7

Three recurrent themes:

Life on Earth
Water
The chemistry of life may be viewed
as the organization of water activity
by carbon-based macromolecules

Evolution
Nothing in biology makes sense
except in the light of evolution.
Theodosius Dobzhansky (1900-1975)

EARTH
Singapore

1 3 N
1.3
Equator
0 latitude
Latitude:View
from 149687715
km =above
95'S 6327'E
Longitude: 103.9 E

Longitude = 0 through Greenwich, England

Galaxy Cluster

1011 galaxies in the observable universe

10

Sometimes I think were alone in the universe, and sometimes I think

were
we
re not
not. In either case the idea is quite staggering.
staggering (Arthur C Clarke)

1968 film with Stanley Kubrick

Note that the astronaut is reading
news on an iPAD

Sequels
q
2010: Odyssey Two (book and film)
2061: Odyssey Three (book only)
3001: The Final Odyssey (book only)
11

The Milky Way: our own galaxy

1012 solar masses
200-400 billion stars

Sagittarius Arm

Orion Arm
M13

M13

Perseus Arm

SUN

S n
Sun
12

Our Solar System

Our Sun is a STAR

g
Mass = 1.989 x 1030 Kg
Diameter = 1.38 million km
13

The eight planets in the solar system

Mercury

Mars

Uranus

Venus

Jupiter
p

Neptune
p

Earth

Saturn

24 August 2006
Pluto
dwarf
d
a p
planet
a et
14

Planets of our Solar System

Planets

Distance from sun

million Km
AU

Mercury

Diameter
Km

Mass
Kg

57.9

0.38

4880

3.30 x 1023

Venus

108.2

0.72

12104

4.87 x 1024

Earth

149.6

(1)

12756

5.97 x 1024

Mars

384.4

1.52

6794

6.42 x 1023

Jupiter

778 3
778.3

5 20
5.20

142984

1 90 x 1027
1.90

Saturn

1429

9.54

120536

5.68 x 1026

Uranus

2871

19.2

51118

8.68 x 1025

Neptune

4505

30.1

49532

1.02 x 1026

AU = astronomical unit = average distance between the Earth and the Sun
AU academic unit

15

Bodies that orbit the planets are satellites

The moon is the satellite of Earth

Galileo
1564-1642

16

Our Moon is a satellite

Satellites

Parent
Planet

Orbit
Km

Diameter
Km

Mass
Kg

Moon

Earth

384 000

3 476

7.35 x 1022

Io

Jupiter

422 000

3 630

8.49 x 1022

Europa

Jupiter

671 000

3 139

4.80 x 1022

Ganymede

Jupiter

1 070 000

5 262

1.48 x 1023

Callisto

Jupiter

1 883 000

4 800

1.08 x 1023

Galilean moons

As of today, there are 64 confirmed moons (satellites) of Jupiter

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-14391929
A possible second moon BBC news on 4 August 2011

17

Are there life other than on Earth?

Life within the Solar System?

Europa
p
6th of the Jupiter satellites
and fourth largest

NASA Galileo 1997

Callisto
8th of the Jupiter satellites
and second largest

NASA Galileo 2001

Evidence of water in/on these satellites, and therefore the possibility of

finding life, that NASA has plans to explore them more thoroughly.

18

Are there life other than on Earth?

SETI: Search of Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence

Scan the sky for meaningful signals - SETI@home

Allen Telescope Array

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-11041449

19

The Wow! signal

Ohio State University (OSU) program the Big Ear Telescope
received a signal for 72 seconds on 15 August 1977.

Jerry Ehman

Only this print-out survived hard disc (1 Mb storage capacity so it

was immediately wiped clean for future recording!)
But no more signals! Why didnt they send at least one
more for confirmation?

20

We are here!
Pioneer Plaque
Pi
Pioneer
10 (1972)
Pioneer 11 (1973)

In the hope that whichever intelligence

g
out there, from the clues on this
plaque, can figure out who we are: including our place in the solar
system and the intelligent species on the planet. (Check Wikipedia)

21

Arecibo Broadcast (1974)

(Puerto Rico)

Arecibo Radio Telescope

20 trillion watt
A message detectable
by a SETI-like setup
anywhere in our
galaxy

M13 Star Cluster

~300,000 stars, at least
some will have planets
~ 25,000 light years away
(No information can be
transmitted faster than
the speed of light.)

The message
1679 (23 x 73)
binary digits

22

Message beamed out in 1679 binary digits

1679 = 23 X 73

0
0
1
x

0
1
0
x

0
1
1
x

1
0
0
x

1
0
1
x

1
1
0
x

1
1
1
x

00
00
01
x

00
00
11
x

00
10
01
x

10

23

Are we intelligent?
Life Intelligence (in SETIs context)
History
y of Wireless Communication
Pre-1900: theory only
Michael Faraday: demonstration of induction
Radio broadcasting after 1900
Before that, we were NOT intelligent
Or, nobody out THERE can tell if we were intelligent
If someone sent us a signal which arrived 100 years ago, we were not
intelligent enough to detect it.
Technical limitations:
Signal strength: Areciba Broadcast our galaxy, SETI-like setup
Can they figure out the message in the Arecibo message?
24

Communication with Extraterrestrial Intelligence

Who can see us?
Intelligent beings only
Where are they?
Planets in other star systems
Wh can they
When
th see us?
?
When the signals reach them
Can we communicate?
Yes, in principle.
Moon: ~4 x 105 km (1.3 sec away)
S
Sun:
~1.5
1 5 x 108 km
k (8 min
i 19 sec away))
Nearest stars Centauri: ~ 4 light years away
M13 cluster: 25,000 light years away
Galactic Centre: 27,000 light years away
Andromeda: 2.5 million light years away

25

Man-made satellites

Estimate, a few thousand artificial satellites are in orbit.

2009, a US satellite and a Russian satellite collided in space!

26

The Elements

27

Atomic structure
Location

Mass

Charge

Proton

Nucleus

+1

Neutron

Nucleus

Electron

Orbitals

~1/2000

-1

Atomic Number

Atomic Mass

Number of protons
or
Number of electrons

Number of protons
+
Number of neutrons

Mass Weight

Hydrogen

Oxygen

P=1
N=0
E=1
AN = 1
AM = 1

P=8
N=8
E=8
AN = 8
AM = 16
28

Dmitri Mendeleev
(1834-1907)
H
Li Be

Na Mg

Al Si

Cl

K Ca Sc Ti
Rb Sr

V Cr Mn Fe Co Ni Cu Zn Ga Ge As Se Br

Zr Nb Mo

Cs Ba

Ta W

La Ce
Th

Ru Rh Pd Ag Cd In Sn Sb Te
Os Ir

Pt Au Hg Tl Pb Bi

Dy
U

Er
29

The
e Periodic
e od c Table
ab e

H
He

Li Be

Na Mg

Al Si

Cl Ar

K Ca Sc Ti
Rb Sr

Ne

V Cr Mn Fe Co Ni Cu Zn Ga Ge As Se Br Kr

Zr Nb Mo Tc Ru Rh Pd Ag Cd In Sn Sb Te

Cs Ba La Hf Ta W Re Os Ir

Xe

Pt Au Hg Tl Pb Bi Po At Rn

Fr Ra Ac Rf Db Sg Bh Hs Mt Ds Rg Cn Uut Uuq Uup Uuh Uus Uuo

L Ce
La
C Pr
P Nd Pm
P Sm
S Eu
E Gd Tb Dy
D Ho
H Er
E Tm
T Yb Lu
L
Ac Th Pa U Np Pu Am Cm Bk Cf Es Fm Md No Lr
Mendeleevs elements

Natural elements

Synthetic elements

La: insert Lacthanide series; Ac: insert Actinide series

Why are the elements arranged this way?

http://www.dayah.com/periodic/

30

Order of shell filling

http://www.dayah.com/periodic/

10
0

10

14

10

14

10

14

10

14

The lowest energy level

orbital filled first
Note that the lowest energy
orbital is not necessarily the
outermost orbital
Chemistry of the elements
solely depends on the
outer shell electrons
Thus, while the d-orbital of
shell 3 is filled, the s-orbital
s orbital of
shell 4 had already been filled.

While the 3d shell is being filled, all the 10 elements have similar
properties because their outer shell (4s) has two electrons, they are
the first 10 transition metals including iron, copper and zinc.

31

% Wt
Earth

Element

Symbol

Atomic
Number

Oxygen

16

46.6

30.1

65.0

Silicon

Si

14

28

27.7

15.1

trace

Aluminium

Al

13

27

6.5

1.4

trace

Iron

Fe

26

56

5.0

32.1

trace

Calcium

Ca

20

40

3.6

1.5

1.5

S di
Sodium

N
Na

11

23

28
2.8

t
trace

02
0.2

Potassium

19

39

2.6

trace

0.4

Magnesium

Mg

12

24

2.1

13.9

0.1

0 14
0.14

trace

95
9.5

25

55

0.1

trace

trace

Hydrogen
Manganese

H
Mn

Atomic
Weight

% Wt
Earth Crust

% Wt
Human Body

Fluorine

19

0.07

trace

trace

Phosphorus

15

31

0.07

trace

1.0

Carbon

12

0.03

trace

18.5

Sulphur

16

32

0.03

2.9

0.3

Chlorine

Cl

17

35.5

0.01

trace

0.2

Nitrogen

14

trace

trace

3.3

Nickel

Ni

28

53

trace

1.8

trace

32

Number of electrons in
the outermost shell:

1
1(1s)

2(1s)
2(2s)
2(2p)

2(1s)
2(2s)
3(2p)

2(1s)
2(2s)
4(2p)

The Periodic Table

Li Be
Na Mg
K Ca Sc Ti
Rb Sr

He
B

Ne

Al Si

Cl Ar

V Cr Mn Fe Co Ni Cu Zn Ga Ge As Se Br Kr

Zr Nb Mo Tc Ru Rh Pd Ag Cd In Sn Sb Te

Cs Ba La Hf Ta W Re Os Ir

Xe

Pt Au Hg Tl Pb Bi Po At Rn

Fr Ra Ac Rf Db Sg Bh Hs Mt Uun Uuu Uub

synthetic
elements

bulk biological elements

t
trace
elements
l
t

Uuq

Uuh

Uuo

possible trace
essential elements ?
33

Elements listed as trace

trace in the human body does not mean that they are
not important. Indeed, some are VERY important.
Iron: absolutely necessary for your haemoglobin to bind oxygen and
carbon dioxide. Iron deficiency anaemia.
Iodine: found in thyroxine, a hormone secreted by the thyroid. Iodine
deficiency is rather common
common, leading to common swelling of the thyroid
gland.
Zinc, found in many enzymes, particular in what is known as zinc fingers
in DNA binding domains.
Ceruloplasmin, a major copper-carrying enzyme in your blood.

Of the major elements found on Earth, Aluminium and Silicon are

found at trace level in the human body and apparently play no role in
bodily functions.
34

Nonreactive

Reactive

2 protons
2 neutrons
2 electrons

7 protons
7 neutrons
7 electrons
K

L
2+

7+

Helium

Nitrogen

With 3 more protons and 3 more electrons, the nitrogen will

become the inert gas neon, with 8 electrons in its outer shell.

35

36

Ionic Bond
Na++

Na
Na

NaCl

Sodium atom

Sodium ion (+)

Cl

Cl

Chlorine atom

Chloride ion ()

a.

More illustration of this type of

bond when we talk about protein
structures.

Cl

Na++

Cl

Na++

Cl

Na++

Cl

Na++

Cl

b. NaCl crystal

37

Covalent bond
No net charge
Filled outermost shell
(in this case 1)
No free electrons

Hydrogen

H2

Single

Oxygen

O2

Double

Nitrogen

N2

Triple

38

Top right corner of the periodic table

C C

H H

H
He

Ne

N N

O O

P P

S S

Cl Cl

Ar

triple
bond

double
bond

single
bond

inert
gas

multiple bonds cannot form in outer shells

39

3.5
30
3.0
2.5
21
2.1
Electronegativity describes the relative ability of an atom to attract electrons
in a covalent bond: it is a dimensionless q
quantity.
y
Thus, if the covalent bond is between two atoms of different electronegativities,
the one with higher electronegativity would pull the electrons in the covalent
bond towards its nucleus,, rendering
g the bond polar.
p
Alternatively, if the electronegativities of the two elements are similar, they will
exert similar pull to the bond electrons, making the bond non-polar.
Large difference in electronegativities between O and H (3.5 vs 2.1) makes
O-H bond polar, and small difference between C and H (2.5 vs 2.1) makes
C-H bond non-polar.

40

Water and hydrogen bond

Hydrogen bond

Also note that there are two pairs of electrons on the oxygen as
well as two hydrogen. This symmetry allow the water molecules
to form an infinite matrix.
Clearly, hydrogen bond can also be formed between H and N.
41

and many other possible arrangements

When frozen, it is not

tell exactly which
hydrogen belongs to
which oxygen

42

Consequences:

Water at its densest: 4C.

Ice is less dense than water

(~0.9 sp gr).

Thus, nott only

Th
l ice
i floats,
fl t b
butt
water freezes from the top.

Change is not abrupt: therefore

it b
becomes lless dense
d
as it
approaches freezing point.

Ice is also a good insulator,

so water below can be kept
from the coldness above.

43

Other p
properties
p
of water (all
( derivatives of being
g H2O))
and being able to form network of hydrogen bonds
Higher freezing/melting point: 0C
High
g condensation/boiling
g point:
p
100C
Large temperature range to remain in a liquid state (from 0C to 100C)
High specific heat: 1 cal/gm/C
Excellent general solvent
Cohesion:

Hydrogen bonds hold water molecules together; also

allow water to hold onto other molecules/surfaces

44

Top right corner of the periodic table

Compounds with Hydrogen

Melting
Point

Boiling
Point

Range

H2

-259.1

-253.9

5.2

He

-272.2

-268.9

3.3

CH4

-182

-161.6

20.4

NH3

-77.7

-33.3

44.4

H2O

0.0

100.0

100.0

HF

-83.6

19.5

103.1

Ne

-248.6

-246.1

1.5

PH3

-133.5
133 5

-85.0
85 0

48 5
48.5

H2S

-85.5

-60.7

14.8

HCl

-114.2

-85.1

29.1

Ar

-189.2

-185.7

3.5

Compounds

H2
CH4

He

NH3

H2O

HF

Ne

PH3

H2S

HCl

Ar

H2O is the only liquid at RT

45

Consider ammonia
Melting/freezing point: -77.7C
Condensation/boiling point: -33.5C

H
H

107
107

N
Number
b off lone
l
pair
i electrons:
l t
1

Number of hydrogen: 3
The asymmetry of the lone pair
electrons and hydrogen atoms
d
does
nott allow
ll
the
th formation
f
ti off a
spaceous matrix as water. Solid
ammonia sinks.

46

Adhesion: capillary action

Adhesion force of water to glass surface is stronger than
gravity, hence water is drawn upwards in the glass tube to
a height
h i ht when
h the
th two
t
forces
f
are b
balanced.
l
d
The narrower the tube, the larger the surface area for a
given volume of water, hence water rises higher.

Cranberry jelly: Water held to

polymeric fibers in this case
gelatin, as a semi-solid gel.
47

Cohesion: may be regarded as selfadhesion of water molecules. In this

case referred to as surface tension
Since surface tension of the water
is greater than the force applied by
the insects foot, the insect is thus
able to walk on water.
In previous exam questions on properties of water, students of cited this
example such that insects can walk on water. This must be viewed from the
other side. Water has this property where insects like this one exists or not.
It is the insect that has evolved to take advantage of this property of water.

Another consequence on the self-adhesion

self adhesion of water molecules by
hydrogen bonds is their exclusion of molecules that are hydrophobic.
The hydrophobic molecules are forced to organize away from the water
protein folding,
g etc.
to come different structures: formation of membranes, p
48

Solubilizing NaCl

Water interacting with the individual Na+ and Cl ions to keep them apart.
NaCl is said to be soluble. When the amount of Na+ and Cl increase to
the point where there is insufficient number of water molecules to keep
them apart,
apart they aggregate to form crystal
crystal. The maximum amount of NaCl
can be kept apart without crystallizing defines the solubility of NaCl.
49

These properties of water should not be memorized as individual properties.

They
y should be regarded
g
as one p
property
p y manifested in different ways.
y
50

Carbon and multiple

p bonds
A: one bond only

B: two bonds

B
B

B
B

B
B

A string

C: three bonds

A surface

D ffour bonds
D:
b d

A th
three di
dimensional
i
l structure
t
t
51

The versatility of carbon

ethylene

ethane

acetylene

methane

hexane

benzene

52

Other carbon structures

Nanotube

Football

Buckminsterfullerene

Buckyball
The Jubalani Ball WC2010

53

The versatility of carbon (valence 4)

Graphite

Many industrial uses

including pencils and
solid phase lubricants.

Diamond

Golden Jubilee Diamond

546 carats, 109 gm

A dwarf star with a

3,000 km size core of
crystallized carbon
carbon,
i.e. a diamond of 2.27
x 1024 tonnes, or 1 x
1034 carats.

54

Valence

Top of the periodic table

He

Li

Be

Ne

Na

Mg
g

Al

Si

Cl

Ar

+1

+2

+3

-3

-2

-1

Carbon: 6 electrons

1s2

2s2 2p2

Silicon: 14 eletrons

1s2

2s2 2p6

Carbon dioxide
(gas)

3s2 3p2
Cannot form
double bond

Larger atomic radius of silicon, pi electrons are too far

away to take on the necessary geometry for pi-bonding.
The chemistry of life may be viewed as the organization
of water activity by carbon-based macromolecules

Silicone dioxide
(solid)

55

The Origin of Life

Earliest evidence of life: ~3.5 billion years ago
Fossils embedded in rock dated to the time
Found in Australia and Africa
Age of Earth (and the Solar System)
~ 4.5 billion years ago
Age of the Universe (big bang)
11.5 20 billion years ago
Within the first 1 billion years, life has
evolved to microorganisms. Remarkable
since most of the time the Solar System
was too violent for any sufficiently stable
condition for life to evolve. Anything that
made a start could easily be destroyed.
Sir Fred Hoyle
(191 2001)
(1915-2001)

Collision
C
lli i off Earth
E th with
ith a Mars-size
M
i object,
bj t
leading to formation of a moon or two.

George Gamow
(1904-1968)

56

Our Universe ~ 1050 tonnes of matter

(1 tonne = 1000 kg)
Big Bang: too hot for atoms
Only
O
y elementary
e e e ta y pa
particles
t c es including
c ud g protons,
p oto s, neutrons,
eut o s, electrons
e ect o s
Cool down to form atoms (hydrogen) due to expansion
Uniformity implies order; in the cosmic scale of things, there
must be local conditions that favours stars formation.
Collapse of hydrogen by gravity leads to the formation of stars,
where gravitational energy forces the atoms to pack so tight that
other elements, by nuclear reactions, began to form: first helium,
later heavier elements
elements. Release of energy
energy, in the form of light
light,
allows us to identify them as stars.
Fate of p
primary
y stars (p
(population
p
II)) vary
y - mostly
y dependent
p
on size,,
ultimately leaving behind debris with heavier elements.
57

Our Sun: second or third generation stars (population I), thus our solar
system has the heavier elements necessary for the kind of life we are.
98% of the matter collapsed
p
into a single
g mass,, which is the Sun (1.39
(
x
106 km in diameter, 1.99 x 1030 kg). Other found ways to materialize
into the planets.
Closer to the Sun favours heat resistant silicates, farther out allows
lighter molecules to condense, including water.
Violent nature off the early solar system resulted in the ejection and capture
of interplanetary material, the origin of earths rocky crust and water are
likely to be of planetary and cometary origin.
Last significant impact of a meteorite ~ 65 mya, extinction of dinosaurs.
Worldwide deposition of a layer of the rare layer of iridium. Giant crater
under Mexico 180 km across,, impact
p
of an object
j
estimated to be about 20
km in diameter.
58

Venus

Earth

Mars

Orbit x 103 km

108 200

149 600

227 940

Di
Diameter
t (km)
(k )

12 104

12 756

6 794

4.87 x 1024

5.97 x 1024

6.42 x 1023

90

0 01
0.01

CO2
(mostly)

N2 (77%)
O2 (21%)

CO2 (95%)
N2 (2.7%)

Surface

H2SO4

71% water

Ice/CO2 caps

Surface temp

>450C

Ave ~ 15C

Ave ~ 55C

none

Moon

Phobos
Deimos

Mass (kg)
At
Atmosphere
h
Component of Atm

Satellite

59

The Origin of Life and the Primordial Soup

You expressed quite correctly my views where you said that
I had intentionally left the question of the Origin of Life
uncanvassed as being
g altogether
g
ultra vires in the present
p
state of our knowledge. Charles Darwin

Darwin
D
i
(1809-1882)

some warm little pond, with all sorts of ammonia and

phosphoric salts,
salts light,
light heat,
heat electricity,
electricity etc,
etc Darwin
conjectured that life might form by a process of chemical
complexification.

A.I. Oparin and J.B.S. Haldane (1920s),

the little pond was taken to the
Earths entire oceans as the setting,
which reached the consistency of hot
dilute soup later stuck as described
as the
the primordial soup
soup .
Haldane
(1892-1964)

Oparin
(1894-1980)

60

Whatever the origin is, we can be certain that all living organisms
today has the same origin
origin.
Although your textbook lists many common properties of life, including:
cellular organization,
organization sensitivity,
sensitivity growth,
growth development,
development reproduction
reproduction,
regulation, homeostasis, and heredity, I have condensed them to three.
Basic building raw materials proteins, nucleic acids,
carbohydrates lipids
carbohydrates,
lipids.
We can cross-feed each other.
Same genetic code and material.
With this argument, does it happen only once? Not necessarily,
since the other forms simply went extinct and not detected.
Extraterrestrial Origin: panspermia?
This simply transfer the problem to elsewhere
elsewhere . I will let you
think about what are the pros and cons of this conjecture.
61

About 50,000 meteorites found on Earth, i.e. they

are large
g enough
g to survive the burn-out;; 99 are
thought to be of Martian origin.
ALH 84001, from Allan Hills of Antarctica.
Where did it come from?
Possibly between 3.6 to 4 billion years old.
Ej ti from
Ejection
f
M
Mars about
b t 16 million
illi
years ago.
Arriving Earth about 13,000 years ago.
N t clear
Not
l
if there
th
are life
lif on Mars.
M
If there are life out there, and they can be trapped in meteorites,
then it is possible that when they arrived Earth,
Earth finding the
conditions (primordial soup) right to grow. Life can take on.
No need to start from scratch, and its origin
origin could be anywhere.
62

The Miller-Urey
Miller Urey Experiment (1953
(1953, University of Chicago)

Harold Urey
(1893-1981)

Stanley Miller
(1930-2007)

Nobel Prize 1934

Deuterium
63

64

The Miller-Urey experiment: results

65

Problems of the Miller-Urey experiment:

Although 15% of the carbon in methane was converted to more
complex
l compounds,
d the
th experiment
i
t was performed
f
d in
i an enclosure.
l
The ingredients in the primordial soup would be too dilute to
encourage reaction
ti ((assembly).
bl )
The mixture of nitrogen, ammonia, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide,
methane and hydrogen probably does not represent the composition
of early earth. Geologists now believe that ammonia, methane, and
hydrogen probably did not present in abundance. Current estimate,
mostly
y carbon dioxide and nitrogen.
g
Life in the primordial soup was difficult to survive as Earth was
constantly under bombardment until about 200 million years ago.
66

Barringer Crater: 1
1.2
2 km across
100 m deep, 30 000 years old
Extinction
E
i i off dinosaurs
di
Crater 180 km across
65 million years ago

Oldest fossil
of eukaryotes

Impactor: 500 km in diameter

Crater: 1500 km across and 50 km deep
Oceans boiled dry: all lives obliterated
1000 yr of molten rock droplet rain
2000 yr of normal rain

Multicellular
g
Organism
End of serious bombardment at
less than 10 million years
intervals: 200 million years ago
ago.
67

Black smokers: hydrothermal

vents that can reach temperature
off 350C.
350C H
Hydrogen
d
sulphide
l hid and
d
other minerals spews out of the
cracks in the Earths crust, able
to cata
catalize
e tthe
e co
conversion
e so o
of
nitrogen to ammonia and more
complex molecules.
In line with the characterization of
extremophiles able to survive
and reproduce at temperature of
over 100C
Deep sea vents in rock strata
could also offer protection from
heavenly bombardments.
Earliest microbe likely to be
th
thermophiles.
hil
68

A prebiotic simulation of a black smoker with pieces of minimal rich lava with
seawater. When superheated, minerals from lava with carbon dioxide move to
a second chamber where the chemicals react to form simple organic molecules.

69

Even if we assume that organic molecules can be generated, how they

were organized
g
into something
g the resembled life was left unanswered.
Life is not free reaction of molecules. Certain set of molecules had to be
packaged into a unit that can reproduce.
As far as we know
know, the package is inside a membranous structure
structure.
However, once it had started, the rest should be quite easy.
A protocell-like vesicle that selfassembles from simple organic
molecules in a similar way doesnt need
proteins to transport molecules across
its membranes.
Dreamer DW.
DW (2008) How leaky were primitive
cells? Nature N&V: 454, 37-38.
Mansy SS et al (2008) Template-directed
synthesis of a genetic polymer in a model
protocell. Nature 454, 122-125
70

Geological Timescale (in MYA) and the Evolution of Life on Earth

4600 MYA
3500 MYA
2200 MYA
2000 MYA
1500 MYA
850 MYA
600 MYA
490 MYA
440 MYA
410 MYA
200 MYA
140 MYA
65 MYA
20 MYA
2.5 MYA
0.25 MYA

Replicating organic molecules

Formation of Earth
Formation of cells
Oldest fossils of prokaryotes
Cyanobacteria
Oxygen in atmosphere
Re-organization of genome
Fossils of eukaryotes
M lti ll l organisms
Multicellular
i
Animal and land plants
Cambrian explosion
V
Vascular
l plants
l t
Bony fish, tetrapods, insects
Dinosaurs
Flowering plants, birds, marsupial mammals
Extinction of dinosaurs
First primates
Various Homo species
Homo sapiens
71
MYA = millions of years ago

Earliest Classification System

Plants

Animals

Microorganisms

C
Current
t Classification
Cl
ifi ti
S
System
t
Bacteria

Archaea
Protista

Eukarya
Fungi
g

Plantae

Animalia
72

Fig. 1.7

73