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There's no well understood theory of abiogenesis. For something to be a theory it must be supported by repeatable experiment and/or repeatable observation. The

by api 9y ago

There's no well understood theory of abiogenesis. For something to be a theory it must be supported by repeatable experiment and/or repeatable observation. The difference between hypothesis and theory is very important. There are many good hypotheses on abiogenesis but until someone demonstrates rudimentary repeatable abiogenesis in the lab without "hand-holding" interventions then it's not a theory. (Or alternately finds a way to observe strong evidence for abiogenesis and how it occurred in the fossil record in a reproducible way that is specific enough to rule out other explanations for the same data.)

dragonwriter 9y ago
Your general description is correct, but your specific application is not; because you've implicitly in the latter limited empirical confirmation such as to juatify the label theort to direct observation or indirect observation that admits no other explanation. Neither is required, and the latter would move it beyond theory to irrefutable fact, as an observation “that is specific enough to rule out other explanations”, obviously, rules out all other explanations.)
ABCLAW 9y ago
That's not correct. There's no scientific theory of abiogenesis, because we haven't elucidated the entire pathway and developed falsifiable methods of determining which of the various models is correct, but there certainly is a theory of abiogenesis. In fact, the theory is so well developed that there isn't really a competing scientific explanation to explain how life ultimately arose other than through abiogenesis. The area of research has been fairly fertile, to the point that many of the findings in that field have spun off into their own areas of research, from their original pursuit of the origins of life.
- aaronblohowiak 9y ago
  >to the point that many of the findings in that field have spun off into their own areas of research, from their original pursuit of the origins of life. That sounds fascinating. Can you give some examples?
- oldandtired 9y ago
  If there is no scientific theory of abiogenesis then there can be no theory so well developed that there is no competing scientific explanation. If it isn't science in the first place, it can't be science in the second place. Abiogenesis and evolution as complementary ideas and its competition of intelligent design are philosophical standpoints attempting to portray themselves as science. They are metaphysical. A simple example of one of the current evolutionary ideas is that there is much "junk" dna within each lifeform. If this is so, then with the current technology, we should be able to edit this "junk" dna out of the chromosomal dna structure and still be able to have fully viable lifeforms that breed true and are fully compatible for the pre-edited lifeforms. if there is 80% "junk", we should be able to edit this 80% out with no ill side-effects. If it turns out that we can't edit this "junk" out without causing non-viability or ill side-effects that that dna was not "junk" in the first place. Over all the hundreds of millions of species existing on this planet, we should be able to find all sorts of species that are in transition forms (having partially functional organs or forms) today. You can make all sorts of claims about what has happened in the past, especially when you cannot actually test those living organisms in the lab.
  - ABCLAW 9y ago
    That isn't true. Feel free to tell me what the alternative theories that constitute competition to abiogenesis. The alternatives are pretty much 1) a deity or 2) some mythical life force assembled things. Abiogenesis has a ton of evidence behind it, but we do not have the entire chain of conditions and reactions required to go from primordial molecules to actual fact. Much in the same way that 'AI' vanishes, as we develop evidence and establish facts that support abiogenesis, they become standard biology, chemistry or physics. Compare the argument for abiogenesis in the 1800s to the one today. We've discovered the mechanism for generating our species from single celled life forms, we've determined that RNA have intrinsic catalytic ability, we've developed robust theories of non-equilibrium reaction processes. As for your statement about junk DNA, you have a very limited understanding of what that actually refers to. Junk DNA refers to non-coding dna. We know those areas can influence chromatin structure, contain regulated control sequences which influence gene expression, contain splicing sequences, etc. As for your last paragraph, you make it very clear you don't understand the subject you're talking about. I suggest doing more than reading pop science books and picking up a volume on molecular biology. It will clear up what I imagine are a legion of misconceptions you have about what we know.

by api 9y ago

dragonwriter 9y ago

Your general description is correct, but your specific application is not; because you've implicitly in the latter limited empirical confirmation such as to juatify the label theort to direct observation or indirect observation that admits no other explanation. Neither is required, and the latter would move it beyond theory to irrefutable fact, as an observation “that is specific enough to rule out other explanations”, obviously, rules out all other explanations.)

ABCLAW 9y ago

That's not correct. There's no scientific theory of abiogenesis, because we haven't elucidated the entire pathway and developed falsifiable methods of determining which of the various models is correct, but there certainly is a theory of abiogenesis. In fact, the theory is so well developed that there isn't really a competing scientific explanation to explain how life ultimately arose other than through abiogenesis. The area of research has been fairly fertile, to the point that many of the findings in that field have spun off into their own areas of research, from their original pursuit of the origins of life.

aaronblohowiak 9y ago
>to the point that many of the findings in that field have spun off into their own areas of research, from their original pursuit of the origins of life. That sounds fascinating. Can you give some examples?
oldandtired 9y ago
If there is no scientific theory of abiogenesis then there can be no theory so well developed that there is no competing scientific explanation. If it isn't science in the first place, it can't be science in the second place. Abiogenesis and evolution as complementary ideas and its competition of intelligent design are philosophical standpoints attempting to portray themselves as science. They are metaphysical. A simple example of one of the current evolutionary ideas is that there is much "junk" dna within each lifeform. If this is so, then with the current technology, we should be able to edit this "junk" dna out of the chromosomal dna structure and still be able to have fully viable lifeforms that breed true and are fully compatible for the pre-edited lifeforms. if there is 80% "junk", we should be able to edit this 80% out with no ill side-effects. If it turns out that we can't edit this "junk" out without causing non-viability or ill side-effects that that dna was not "junk" in the first place. Over all the hundreds of millions of species existing on this planet, we should be able to find all sorts of species that are in transition forms (having partially functional organs or forms) today. You can make all sorts of claims about what has happened in the past, especially when you cannot actually test those living organisms in the lab.
- ABCLAW 9y ago
  That isn't true. Feel free to tell me what the alternative theories that constitute competition to abiogenesis. The alternatives are pretty much 1) a deity or 2) some mythical life force assembled things. Abiogenesis has a ton of evidence behind it, but we do not have the entire chain of conditions and reactions required to go from primordial molecules to actual fact. Much in the same way that 'AI' vanishes, as we develop evidence and establish facts that support abiogenesis, they become standard biology, chemistry or physics. Compare the argument for abiogenesis in the 1800s to the one today. We've discovered the mechanism for generating our species from single celled life forms, we've determined that RNA have intrinsic catalytic ability, we've developed robust theories of non-equilibrium reaction processes. As for your statement about junk DNA, you have a very limited understanding of what that actually refers to. Junk DNA refers to non-coding dna. We know those areas can influence chromatin structure, contain regulated control sequences which influence gene expression, contain splicing sequences, etc. As for your last paragraph, you make it very clear you don't understand the subject you're talking about. I suggest doing more than reading pop science books and picking up a volume on molecular biology. It will clear up what I imagine are a legion of misconceptions you have about what we know.