Open AccessDriving forces in the origins of life
Author(s) -
Ken A. Dill,
Luca Agozzino
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
open biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.078
H-Index - 53
ISSN - 2046-2441
DOI - 10.1098/rsob.200324
Subject(s) - biology , heritability , evolutionary biology , abiogenesis , chemical space , biological evolution , computational biology , genetics , bioinformatics , drug discovery
What were the physico-chemical forces that drove the origins of life? We discuss four major prebiotic ‘discoveries’: persistent sampling of chemical reaction space; sequence-encodable foldable catalysts; assembly of functional pathways; and encapsulation and heritability. We describe how a ‘proteins-first’ world gives plausible mechanisms. We note the importance of hydrophobic and polar compositions of matter in these advances.