This is exciting news. A close approximation of the origin of life on Earth and AI assisted protein folding that may have solved the protein folding problem !
This is exciting news.
Have a peek a this video
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LUCA researchers need to test the South African rock to answer the question if life began on earth or came from outer space.
Microorganisms have been found living in tiny cracks within a 2-billion-year-old rock in South Africa, making this the oldest known rock to host life. The discovery could offer new insights into the origins of life on Earth and may even guide the search for life beyond our planet.
Did you see the entire video? Note that LUCA is 2 billion years older than that rock.
The work suggested that LUCA was a surprisingly complex cell and dated LUCA to some 4.2 billion years ago — earlier than researchers had thought.
Yes, I saw that. The question of if there was one universal common ancestor, why could there not have been more? We need more data. Fossils show bacteria 3.5B. But finding live bacteria is a home run. 2 B is still a great find.
Astrobiologists said these real-life microbes closely resemble what they imagine might be lurking beneath the dry, barren surface of Mars or the thick glaciers of Europa, one of Jupiter’s moons.
[quote=“mikeyohe, post:4, topic:11304, full:true”]
Yes, I saw that. The question of if there was one universal common ancestor, why could there not have been more? We need more data. Fossils show bacteria 3.5B. But finding live bacteria is a home run. 2 B is still a great find.
I agree and according to Hazen, it is quite possible that life may have originated several times. in several places including in space. The Earth is not a very special planet with extraordinary properties for abiogenesis. There should be many planets that equal Earth in spatial and mineral resources. And that’s where natural selection becomes a player. But life, in different forms, seems to be able to adapt to a variety of extreme environments.
The moment life originates it is tested by the environment for survivability and procreation. This can be seen by the various ancestral humans such as the Neanderthals, who did not survive the test of natural selection, but did leave genetic traces in modern humans
Astrobiologists said these real-life microbes closely resemble what they imagine might be lurking beneath the dry, barren surface of Mars or the thick glaciers of Europa, one of Jupiter’s moons.
Sure, why not?
If life is a natural extension of the laws of dynamics, then they apply equally throughout the universe.
From Copilot:
The laws of dynamics include:
- Balancing forces
- Forces and acceleration
- Kinetic and potential energy
- Quantity of movement
- Angular momentum1. These laws are the foundation of dynamics and apply universally2.
(the “blue” numbers are links to reference sources.)
The same criteria for abiogenesis apply to all planets in space.
Earth
Space
The same laws of dynamics apply throughout the universe.
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Engaging in rock hunting. Using UV lights. I noticed that I now view the earth’s mantle as having a lot more chemical reactions taking place than I thought was possible. Looks like we have Chemical Reactions throughout the universe. Then a branch of life from the chemical reactions called abiogenesis.
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I agree totally.
I hope you have watched some of Robert Hazen’s lectures. He is the foremost authority on mineralogy and he explains how chemistry already begins from radiation in cosmic clouds, during novae, and miles deep inside planets.
https://stock.adobe.com/search/video?k=space&load_type=tagged%20keyword&prev_url=detail&search_type=keyword-badge-details-panel
And while the probability of life emerging (abiogenesis) appears to be very small, compared to the total number of chemical interactions in the universe every moment since its inception, the odds are not prohibitive and according to Hazen, the formation of the basic building blocks of biochemistry is actually quite common.
He is convinced that life, in one form or another, may be fairly common thoughout the universe.
Of course, contemplating the evolution of the brain and higher life forms emerging from the near infinite variety of pattern forming from basic elements as a most amazing and excellent expression of what seems to be caused by some underlying self-ordering guiding principles.
From the order I can observe, I see those principles as mathematically based and that is why our use of symbolic mathematics work so well, both in predictive and practical use. IMO, our discovery of the mathematical nature of how it all seems to work, and our symbolization of “interactive values”, is man’s greatest accomplishment
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What are your thoughts on how Daniel Tammet fits into the puzzle? He is known to be able to recite Pi to 22,514 decimal places from memory, attributing his ability to a condition called synesthesia where he “sees” numbers as colors and shapes, making memorization easier for him.
Entirely possible. The brain can be trained to interpre date in a number of ways.
Don’t forget the brain cannot directly experience anything. All its data comes second hand from the senses in the form of EM “bits” and is stored as “bites” of data, not unlike a computer, but in a much more flexible way.
For instance. There are many animals that see via sonar (soundwaves) and can form detailed mental images from echo location.
I saw a video once of a blind person who rode a bike while clicking his tongue. He explained that the his brain formed a landscape based on the echos of clicks.
A skill normally associated with bats can help some blind people get around. (Image credit: © Merlin D. Tuttle, Bat Conservation International, www.batcon.org)
Some blind people are able to use the sound of echoes to “see” where things are and to navigate their environment. Now, a new study finds that these people may even be using visual parts of their brains to process the sounds.
This demonstrates that “savants” have a specific brain formation that allows them to process “raw” data in different and sometimes unique ways.
There are people who can hear a piano sonata and just play it perfectly after hearing it once. Many musicians have “perfect pitch” and just recognize the pitch of a sound.
IMO, consciousness itself rests on “cognition” of “incoming data” as compared to previously “stored data”.
Many animals can “count”. Not in numbers, but as recognition of “more” from “less”.
I love this little clip of a child orangutan’s delight at a magic trick.
Clearly the child expects to see the cherry in the cup. Remarkable.
But wait, there’s more,
Life needs water. 
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And given that many planets in the universe have water, plus the evidence on earth that life can thrive in some of the most hostile environments, the chances that there is life on other planets is very high (Hazen).
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