The origin of life: a critique of current scientific models
Profound advances in the fields of molecular biology in recent
years have enabled the elucidation of cell structure and
function in detail previously unimaginable. The unexpected
levels of complexity revealed at the molecular level have
further strained the concept of the random assembly of a self-
replicating system. At the same time, the recent discovery of
fossil algae and stromatolites (primitive colonies of
cyanobacteria) from as early as the Precambrian, have reduced
the time for development of the first cell as much as tenfold.
Together with implications of this for the oxidative state of
the primitive atmosphere, these developments will force
researchers to rethink many fundamental ideas pertaining to
current models of the origin of life on Earth. The evidence for
the nature of the primitive atmosphere is examined and the
possibility of ribonucleic acid (RNA) as the first self-
replicating molecule is evaluated. The focus is then on DNA,
protei