Origin and Early Evolution of Life
Big idea: Research on life's origin tests how geochemistry could produce organic molecules, compartments and heritable systems before cellular evolution, while early fossils and isotopes constrain later biological history.
Learning goals
- abiogenesis
- protocell
- RNA world hypothesis
- stromatolite
- oxygenation
Core concepts
abiogenesis
The natural emergence of living systems from nonliving chemistry, distinct from ordinary biological reproduction.
protocell
A membrane-bounded chemical system that models properties needed before true cells evolved.
RNA world hypothesis
The proposal that early RNA-like molecules both stored information and catalyzed reactions.
stromatolite
A layered structure built by microbial communities and preserved in the geological record.
oxygenation
The long-term rise of environmental oxygen driven largely by oxygenic photosynthesis.