4 ms·

For anyone interested in the origin of life, and the origin of complex life I highly recommend Nick Lane's Books. You can start with "The Vital Question". There

• borissk 3y ago
  Yes, Nick Lane has done a great job of popularizing the metabolism first hypothesis of origin of life. What his books and videos don't address is the biggest problem of metabolism first - once there's a proto cell (say inside a pore within a white smoker) with working metabolism that turns H2 and CO2 gases into sugars and other organic molecules - how are the proteins that make the metabolism work translated and encoded into an RNA code.
  • qvrjuec 3y ago
    His book The Vital Question does actually address this. He says the RNA world hypothesis doesn't perfectly explain early catalysis, as RNA is a sophisticated polymer. It was most likely more simple things like metal sulphides or other inorganic complexes were primarily responsible. Amino acids and nucleotides also have catalytic activity.
• yoble 3y ago
  Seconding this, as a layman I've found his books both technical and fascinating. He's a great teacher, getting into the details but explaining in a really engaging manner.