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Science 14 June 2002:
Vol. 296. no. 5575, pp. 1982 - 1983
DOI: 10.1126/science.1069487
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Perspectives

ORIGIN OF LIFE:
Some Like It Hot, But Not the First Biomolecules

Jeffrey L. Bada and Antonio Lazcano

According to the prebiotic soup theory, the first primitive life on Earth emerged when organic molecules formed macromolecules that evolved the ability to catalyze their own replication. The main rival theory contends that the first living system on Earth was a primitive metabolic life characterized by a series of self-sustaining reactions between simple monomers. In their Perspective, Bada and Lazcano argue that the two theories are not mutually exclusive and that cool temperatures would have been required in either case for modern life to evolve.

J. L. Bada is at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California at San Diego, La Jolla, CA 02093, USA. A. Lazcano is at Facultad de Ciencias, UNAM, 04510 Mexico D. F., Mexico. E-mail: jbada{at}ucsd.edu (J.L.B.), alar{at}hp.fciencias.unam.mx (A.L.)

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Comment on "Some like it hot, but not the first biomolecules.
Hubert P. Yockey
Science Online, 25 Jun 2002 [Full text]

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Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)