ORIGIN OF CELLULARITY AND CELLULAR
DIVERSITY
Geological stratigraphy,together with radioactivedating, show the sequence of events inthe history of the Earth.Note the entry for “cyanobacteria” and “stromatolites” only onebillion years after the formation of the Earth.But what came before them?And how did cells becomemore complicated 1.5 Byears later?
Chemical experiments, initiated by Stanley Miller and Harold Urey,Showed that some biochemicals could be formed naturally(but not all--where did the rest come from?)Life starts with chemistry
Protobionts vs. surface layers
What is important about a cell?
How would you start, if you wanted to make
a model of a cell?
Hypothesis:
Metabolism (energy, reproduction) needs a
way of concentrating intermediates.
Cells
Adsorptive surfaces
