abiogenesis

Also known as biopoiesis, origin of life

thumb|upright=2|Stages in the origin of life process range from the well understood, such as the planetary habitability|habitable Earth and the abiotic synthesis of simple molecules, to the largely unknown, like the derivation of the [[last universal common ancestor (LUCA) with its complex molecular functionalities.]]

AI overview

Abiogenesis is the scientific study of how life originated on Earth from non-living chemical processes, progressing from simple molecules to the first living organisms. While scientists understand some early stages like how Earth became habitable and how basic molecules formed naturally, much remains unknown about how these chemicals eventually developed into the complex life forms we see today.

AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.

Wikidata facts

Image: Stromatolites.jpg

Sources (4)

via Wikidata · CC0

~59 min read

Article

44 sections

Contents

Overview
Pre-1960s conceptual history
Spontaneous generation
Panspermia
"A warm little pond": primordial soup
Miller–Urey experiment
Producing a habitable Earth
Evolutionary history
Early universe with first stars
Emergence of Earth
Earliest evidence of life
Producing molecules: prebiotic synthesis
Observed extraterrestrial organic molecules
Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons
Nucleobases and nucleotides
Laboratory synthesis
Sugars
Nucleobases
Peptides
Producing protocells
Producing biology
Energy and entropy
Chemiosmosis
PAH world hypothesis
The RNA world
From RNA to directed protein synthesis
Early functional peptides
Phylogeny and LUCA
Suitable geological environments
Deep sea hydrothermal vents
Hot fluids
Chemiosmotic gradient
Arguments against a vent setting
Surface bodies of water
Hot springs
Temperate surface bodies of water
Icy surface bodies of water
Inside the continental crust
Homochirality
See also
Notes
References
Sources
External links

Abiogenesis or the origin of life (sometimes called biopoesis) is the natural process by which life arises from non-living matter, such as simple organic compounds. The prevailing scientific hypothesis is that the transition from non-living to living entities on Earth was not a single event, but a process of increasing complexity involving the formation of a habitable planet, the prebiotic synthesis of organic molecules, molecular self-replication, self-assembly, autocatalysis, and the emergence of cell membranes. The transition from non-life to life has not been observed experimentally, but many proposals have been made for different stages of the process.