Sean Carroll's Mindscape: Science, Society, Philosophy, Culture, Arts, and Ideas 198 | Nick Lane on Powering Biology
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May 23, 2022 Nick Lane, a renowned British biochemist and professor at University College London, dives into the mysteries surrounding the origin of life. He discusses the pivotal role of the Krebs cycle, not just in energy production but also in understanding life's beginnings. Lane explores how metabolic processes may predate genetics, linking energy flow to the emergence of life. Intriguingly, he connects these concepts to contemporary health issues like cancer, emphasizing the profound implications of energy and chemistry in the evolution of living organisms.
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Clues from Current Life
- Studying current life processes can offer clues about life's origins, especially common processes like the Krebs cycle.
- This approach suggests that metabolic pathways might have arisen spontaneously through chemistry, with genes later accelerating these pre-existing processes.
Spontaneous Pathways
- Evolution works incrementally, raising questions like "What good is half a wing?".
- However, metabolic pathways may have arisen spontaneously, sidestepping the need for incremental evolution of each step.
Kinetic Barriers
- CO2 and hydrogen, though thermodynamically inclined to react, face kinetic barriers.
- Chemistry, acting as a catalyst, can overcome these barriers by lowering activation energy, facilitating the reaction.
