"OSIRIS-REx's returned material will be stored and curated at NASA's Johnson Space Center (JSC) in Houston. The JSC team will oversee the distribution of the sample to researchers around the world, who will study it for a variety of purposes. One line of inquiry will focus on organic compounds, the carbon-containing building blocks of life as we know it. Scientists think carbon-rich asteroids like Bennu may have helped life get a foothold on Earth long ago, by delivering organics via impacts."
Interesting thinking and report here. I compared to Charles Darwin letters of 1871 and 1882 for a look back in science on the topic of the origin of life.
www.darwinproject.ac.uk
www.darwinproject.ac.uk
My note Charles Darwin hoped that someday evidence would be shown for life evolving from non-living matter but in his time, none was known that was *worth anything* and the *law of continuity* would provide this, also a general law of nature for abiogenesis. None of this in science is proven at present. There is no general law of abiogenesis seen operating in nature. So, here is a summary of four points in these letters that I learned.
1. A warm little pond is postulated for the origin of life on Earth but Charles Darwin thought if abiogenesis operating in a warm little pond in his time, perhaps such life evolving from non-living matter would be quickly destroyed by existing life and eaten.
2. No good evidence for abiogenesis taking place in Charles Darwin time seen in nature.
3. The law of continuity is needed for abiogenesis to work apparently, and
4. Someday a general law of nature developed to describe and show abiogenesis like other laws of nature, for example the laws of motion or law of gravity. Apparently all four I list here are missing in science today, even with natural law operating in nature in a uniform manner, i.e., *law of continuity*. When I consider point #1, it is good IMO to avoid catastrophism that wipes out abiogenesis creating life from non-living matter at the very beginning otherwise many abiogenesis events must be envisioned to replace the earlier efforts that failed. These are four points I learned by reading some of Charles Darwin letters on the warm little pond and origin of life on Earth.
Now science reporting suggests to the public that there is overwhelming evidence for what Charles Darwin did not see as worthwhile evidence in his days, life evolves from non-living matter. Catastrophism invoked using asteroids to aid in creating life on Earth, something Charles Darwin did not use when discussing the *law of continuity* (no catastrophism at work). It will be interesting to read follow up reports on this asteroid material and see if the labs can demonstrate how catastrophic bombardment of asteroids on the early Earth gave rise to non-living matter that evolves into the first, living cell, complete with DNA and the ability to continue evolving and adding to the original body mass of life on Earth, without being wiped out.
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram