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. 2017 Dec 28;375(2109):20160337.
doi: 10.1098/rsta.2016.0337.

Re-conceptualizing the origins of life

Sara I Walker  1   2   3 , N Packard  4 , G D Cody  5
Affiliations

Re-conceptualizing the origins of life

Sara I Walker et al. Philos Trans A Math Phys Eng Sci. .

Abstract

Over the last several hundred years of scientific progress, we have arrived at a deep understanding of the non-living world. We have not yet achieved an analogous, deep understanding of the living world. The origins of life is our best chance at discovering scientific laws governing life, because it marks the point of departure from the predictable physical and chemical world to the novel, history-dependent living world. This theme issue aims to explore ways to build a deeper understanding of the nature of biology, by modelling the origins of life on a sufficiently abstract level, starting from prebiotic conditions on Earth and possibly on other planets and bridging quantitative frameworks approaching universal aspects of life. The aim of the editors is to stimulate new directions for solving the origins of life. The present introduction represents the point of view of the editors on some of the most promising future directions.This article is part of the themed issue 'Reconceptualizing the origins of life'.

Keywords: astrobiology; origins of life; prebiotic chemistry; statistical physics.

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Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Research on the origins of life approaches the problem from bottom-up, starting from geochemical synthesis of biomolecules, or top-down, uncovering the properties of ancient life: a vast gulf persists in connecting these two approaches, necessitating new conceptual frameworks for addressing life's origins. (Online version in colour.)
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Some of the most commonly used words in the definitions of life. Shown are words common to 123 definitions, as compiled by Trifonov [26]. (Online version in colour.)
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
To advance our understanding of the origins of life, we need to identify the appropriate abstractions for identifying universal principles. Thermodynamics was successful in describing the operation of heat engines because of an abstract understanding of thermodynamic cycles (a). In biology, it is unknown whether equivalently powerful abstractions will be identified (b) (industrial engine from [47], fission yeast cells from [48]). (Online version in colour.)
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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