Practical Science with Phil Freda
Abiogenesis and the Origins of Life
Where and how did life begin? Today, scientists aren’t really sure, but some interesting research may one day give us a definitive answer.
What is a living thing? This is not an easy question with an easy answer. To put it bluntly, a living thing is either a bag of chemicals or a collection of many bags of chemicals. The vast majority of life on Earth is comprised of single celled organisms (one bag of chemicals). Multicellular organisms, like humans, are actually a collection of single-celled organisms that work in concert with one another. Without the cells of the brain or the heart, the rest of the body would die. In essence, we are a collection of many bags of chemicals that totally rely on one another. The Building Blocks of Life Life is basically comprised of highly organized, organic (carbon-based) molecules. There are four main types of molecules found in all living…
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