A bio friend sent me this - note the
similarities with my scenario for the origin.
The full text supports my ideas almost to the
letter - I would only stress the heat cycle a
bit more, and see if there is an early connection
between oligons and amino acids which I think
will be one of the last puzzle pieces:
Icarus 168 (2004) 18-22
Fast tidal cycling and the origin of life
Richard Lathe a,b
a Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of
Edinburgh, George
Square, Edinburgh EH8 9XD, UK
b Pieta Research, PO Box 27069, Edinburgh EH10 5YW, UK
Received 28 May 2003; revised 14 October 2003
Abstract
Replicating prebiotic polymers are thought to predate the
emergence of
true life-forms. The initial mode of replication, a
prerequisite for
Darwinian selection, is unknown, but demands an
explanation based on
local physicochemistry. Dual consideration of the
conditions of the
early terrestrial surface, with the unusual physicochemical
properties
of nucleic acids like DNA, could explain the emergence
of nucleic
acids as key biomolecules. The early impact that produced
the Moon, and
fast terrestrial rotation, subjected coastal areas 3.9 Ga
ago to
rapid tidal flooding (dilution) and drying
(concentration), with a
likely periodicity in the range of 2-6 h, and could have
provided a
driving
force for cyclic replication of early biomolecules. Such
a mechanism
applies only to molecules capable of
association/polymerization at
high salt concentration, and of dissociation at low
salinity. Nucleic
acids meet these criteria. It is suggested that tidal
cycling,
resembling the
polymerase chain reaction (PCR) mechanism, could only
replicate and
amplify DNA-like polymers. This mechanism suggests
constraints on
the evolution of extra-terrestrial life.
? 2003 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Origin; Life; DNA; Nucleic acid; PCR; Moon;
Tide; Cycling;
Salinity