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Here's an honest question that I've pondered occasionally, without really spending the time to research an answer. Not sure if this is biology, chemistry, etc,
by scop 6y ago
Here's an honest question that I've pondered occasionally, without really spending the time to research an answer. Not sure if this is biology, chemistry, etc, but would appreciate any insights HN readers may have:
How did replication develop in nature? Granted some cells popped into existence as some point, do we have any insights into when/how cell replication became a thing?
- EvanAnderson 6y agoI'd look into autocatalytic sets. From an origin-of-life perspective it's a compelling idea to me.
- hallgrim 6y agoExactly! One aspect to remember is that once you have a self—replicating mechanism, by the nature of it, the replicating parts are becoming more widespread. In other words, small effects with larg, self—reinforcing consequences.
- robbrown451 6y agoReplication has many shades of gray. Does a fire self-replicate? How about a prion? Somewhere in between would be self-catalyzing chemical reactions. It's not that hard to imagine how such things could eventually evolve into what we call "life", with no clear line between non-living and living.
- inshadows 5y agoI won't give you straight answer, but this topic is nicely explained in Selfish Gene by Richard Dawkins. Audiobook is great.