Theories

on the
Origin of Life

PREPARED BY: MR. KENT E. GARCIA,

What is
life?
 life
• Life is a characteristic of a
living organism that
distinguishes the latter from a
dead organism or a non-living
thing, as specifically
distinguished by the capacity to
grow, metabolize, respond (to
stimuli), adapt, and reproduce.

• Life may also pertain to

the biota of a particular region. 
 Life on Earth began more
than 3 billion years ago,
evolving from the most basic
microbes into a dazzling array
of complexity over time.

But how did the first

organisms on the only known
home to life in the universe
develop from the primordial
soup?
• Every aspect of life from the
smallest submicroscopic
living particle to the largest
and most imposing of plant
and animal species is
included.

• All living things are made of

cells. Some organisms are
unicellular and some are
multicellular.
 1. Panspermia

• Perhaps life did not begin on

Earth at all, but was brought
here from elsewhere in space, a
notion known as panspermia.
 1. Panspermia
• For instance, rocks regularly get
blasted off Mars by cosmic
impacts, and a number of
Martian meteorites have been
found on Earth that some
researchers have controversially
suggested brought microbes
over here, potentially making us
all Martians originally.
 1. Panspermia
• Other scientists have even
suggested that life might have
hitchhiked on comets from
other star systems.

• However, even if this concept

were true, the question of how
life began on Earth would then
only change to how life began
elsewhere in space.
 Organization of Life
2. Simple beginning
• These might have been contained in
simple capsules akin to cell
membranes, and over time more
complex molecules that performed
these reactions better than the
smaller ones could have evolved,
scenarios dubbed "metabolism-
first" models, as opposed to the
"gene-first" model of the "RNA
world" hypothesis.
 2. Simple
beginning

• Instead of developing from

complex molecules such as
RNA, life might have begun
with smaller molecules
interacting with each other in
cycles of reactions.
 3. Rna world
• Nowadays DNA needs proteins
in order to form, and proteins
require DNA to form, so how
could these have formed
without each other?
• The answer may be RNA,
which can store information like
DNA, serve as an enzyme like
proteins, and help create both
DNA and proteins. 
 3. Rna world
•  Later DNA and proteins
succeeded this "RNA
world," because they are
more efficient. RNA still
exists and performs
several functions in
organisms, including
acting as an on-off
switch for some genes.
 3. Rna world

The question still remains how RNA got here in the first place.
And while some scientists think the molecule could have
spontaneously arisen on Earth, others say that was very
unlikely to have happened. 
 3. Rna world
• Nowadays DNA needs proteins
in order to form, and proteins
require DNA to form, so how
could these have formed
without each other?
• The answer may be RNA,
which can store information like
DNA, serve as an enzyme like
proteins, and help create both
DNA and proteins. 
4. Chilly start
• Ice might have covered the oceans 3
billion years ago, as the sun was
about a third less luminous than it is
now.

• This layer of ice, possibly hundreds

of feet thick, might have protected
fragile organic compounds in the
water below from ultraviolet light
and destruction from cosmic impacts.
4. Chilly start

• The cold might have also

helped these molecules to
survive longer, allowing
key reactions to happen.
5. deep-sea vents
• The deep-sea vent theory suggests
that life may have begun at
submarine hydrothermal vents,
spewing key hydrogen-rich
molecules.

• Their rocky nooks could then have

concentrated these molecules
together and provided mineral
catalysts for critical reactions.
 5. deep-sea
vents

• Even now, these vents,

rich in chemical and
thermal energy, sustain
vibrant ecosystems.
 6. Community clay
• The first molecules of life might have
met on clay, according to an idea
elaborated by organic chemist
Alexander Graham Cairns-Smith at
the University of Glasgow in
Scotland.
• These surfaces might not only have
concentrated these organic
compounds together, but also helped
organize them into patterns much like
our genes do now.
 6. Community clay
• The main role of DNA is to store
information on how other molecules
should be arranged.

• Genetic sequences in DNA are

essentially instructions on how
amino acids should be arranged in
proteins.
 6. Community clay

• Cairns-Smith suggests that mineral

crystals in clay could have arranged
organic molecules into organized
patterns.

• After a while, organic molecules

took over this job and organized
themselves.
 7. Electric spark
• Electric sparks can generate amino acids
and sugars from an atmosphere loaded
with water, methane, ammonia and
hydrogen, as was shown in the famous
Miller-Urey experiment reported in
1953, suggesting that lightning might
have helped create the key building
blocks of life on Earth in its early days.

• Over millions of years, larger and more

complex molecules could form.
 7. Electric spark
• Although research since
then has revealed the early
atmosphere of Earth was
actually hydrogen-poor,
scientists have suggested
that volcanic clouds in the
early atmosphere might
have held methane,
ammonia and hydrogen and
been filled with lightning as
well.
Miller-Urey Experiment
 8. Special creation theory
• Many people believed that
everything in this world was
created by a Supreme Being.

• The Special Creation Theory

emphasizes the source of all
creation is God and with Him,
nothing is impossible.
 9. Spontaneous Generation Theory
• During the ancient times, people used only their naked eyes to
see things.

• They believed that life originated as a spontaneous event. It is a

hypothetical process by which living organisms developed from
nonliving matter, also, the archaic theory that utilized this process
to explain the origin of life.

• The idea of Spontaneous Generation Theory states that living

organisms can originate from inanimate object such as dust creates
fleas, maggots from rotting meat, and bread or wheat left in a dark
corner produces mice.
However, there are several experiments made by different
scientists to disprove the theory.
 9. Biogenetic theory
• The Biogenetic Theory states that life produced life,
that each animal and plant produced its own kind.
• “Ontogeny recapitulates phylogeny”. This is a
phrase made by Ernst Haeckel, a German biologist
and philosopher which means that the development
of an organism (ontogeny) expresses all the
intermediate forms of its ancestors throughout
evolution (phylogeny).
• The advances in science made it clear that living
things created other living things.
 10. aBiogenesis theory
• Most biologists theory that life began in
the primordial seas.

• Water formed as vapor liquified and the

seas appeared. Sunlight, acting on
water where carbon dioxide ad
ammonia were present, formed more
complex compounds suitable for the
nourishment of living things.
 10. aBiogenesis theory
• There was progressive development from
nonliving things. Colloidal substances led to
the formulation of viruses.

• According to Alexander Oparin, a

Russian biochemist, “the first organisms
were probably formed out of organic
chemicals and processes that were much
simpler than those that exist today. Out of
the elements carbon, hydrogen, oxygen,
nitrogen, and sulfur, molecules were
formed from which complex compound
 10. aBiogenetic theory
• Then proteins, carbohydrates,
and other compounds developed
into coacervates converting the
sea into a sort of ‘hot soup’,
where cells formed.”

• It is believed that the first living

cells were not able to make
their own organic food.
Characteristics
of Living
Things
 Characteristics of Living Things
1. All living things are made up of cells

• Cell is the basic unit of function and structure in living things.

• Organisms can be…

• Unicellular – organism that are made of only one cell.

• Multicellular – organisms that are made of more than once

cell.
Examples of Multicellular Organisms
 Characteristics of Living Things
1. All living things
are made up of
cells

• While all cells

have the same
basic parts, cells
can look different
and be
specialized for
certain jobs.
 Characteristics of Living Things
2. Nutrition

• Living things take in materials

from their surroundings that they
use for growth or to provide
energy.

• Nutrition is the process by which

organisms obtain energy and raw
materials from nutrients such as
proteins, carbohydrates and fats.
 Characteristics of Living Things
3. Respiration

• Respiration is the release of

energy from food substances in all
living cells.

• Living things break down food

within their cells to release energy
for carrying out the following
processes.
 Characteristics of Living Things
3. Metabolism

• Respiration is the release of

energy from food substances in all
living cells.

• Living things break down food

within their cells to release energy
for carrying out the following
processes.
Metabolism
Metabolism
 Characteristics of Living Things
4. Movement/Locomotion

• Pertains to the various movements of organisms (single-celled or

multicellular organisms) to propel themselves from one place to
another.

• All living things move. It is very obvious that a leopard moves but
what about the thorn tree it sits in? Plants too move in various
different ways. The movement may be so slow that it is very
difficult to see.
Movement/Locomotion
Movement/Locomotion
 Characteristics of Living Things
5. Excretion

• All living things excrete.

• As a result of the many chemical reactions occurring in cells, they

have to get rid of waste products which might poison the cells.

• Excretion is defined as the removal of toxic materials, the waste

products of metabolism and substances in excess from the body of
an organism.
Excretion
Excretion
 Characteristics of Living Things
6. Growth

• Growth is seen in all living things. It

involves using food to produce new
cells.

• Growth is the increase in size and mass

of a particular organism over a period of
time whereas development is the overall
changes in the whole organism in terms
of organization and function.
Growth and Development
 Characteristics of Living Things
7. Reproduction

• Is the biological process by which new individual organisms –

"offspring" – are produced from their "parent" or parents.

• Reproduction is a fundamental feature of all known life; each

individual organism exists as the result of reproduction.

• There are two main forms: sexual and asexual reproduction.

 Characteristics of Living Things
7. Reproduction

• In sexual reproduction, an
organism combines the
genetic information from each
of its parents and is
genetically unique.

• In asexual reproduction,
one parent copies itself to
form a genetically identical
Sexual Reproduction
Asexual Reproduction
 Characteristics of Living Things
8. Homeostasis

• Homeostasis refers to the ability

of an organism to maintain the
internal environment of the body
within limits that allow it to
survive.

• Think of it as keeping the body

balanced.
 Characteristics of Living Things
8. Homeostasis

• Examples of HOMEOSTASIS:

• 1. Body temperature – 98.6 degrees (37 degree Celsius.)

• 2. Blood glucose (sugar) levels – after eating your body produces

a chemical called INSULIN to lower your blood sugar levels.

• 3. Water levels – regulated by kidneys.

Homeostasis
Receptor

• As the name suggests, the

receptor is the sensing
component responsible for
monitoring and responding
to changes in the external
or internal environment.
Homeostasis
Control Center

• The control centre is also

known as the integration
centre.

• It receives and processes

information from the
receptor.
Homeostasis

Effector

• The effector responds to the

commands of the control
centre.

• It could either oppose or

enhance the stimulus.
Blood Glucose Homeostasis
Homeostatic Regulation of Temperature in
Humans
Homeostatic Regulation of Temperature in
Humans
The Volume Of Body Water Homeostasis

Effects of Aldosterone and ADH

on Kidney Function

When fluid levels in the body are

low, ADH (Vasopressin) is secreted
by the pituitary gland and
Aldosterone is secreted by the
adrenal glands.
The Volume Of Body Water Homeostasis
Effects of Aldosterone and ADH
on Kidney Function. 

ADH decreases the loss of water

whereas Aldosterone increases the
reabsorbtion of Na+ within the
collecting duct of the kidneys. Water
is reabsorbed with the Na+ causing
an increase in fluid retention and
decreased urine output.
 Other Examples of Homeostasis

1. Blood glucose homeostasis.

2. Blood oxygen content homeostasis.

3. Extracellular fluid pH homeostasis.

4. Plasma ionized calcium homeostasis.

5. Arterial blood pressure homeostasis.

 Other Examples of Homeostasis

6. Core body temperature homeostasis.

7. The volume of body water homeostasis.

8. Extracellular sodium concentration homeostasis.

9. Extracellular potassium concentration homeostasis.

10. Blood partial pressure of oxygen and carbon dioxide homeostasis.

 Characteristics of Living Things
9. Sensitivity

• All living things are able to sense and respond to stimuli around
them such as light, temperature, water, gravity and chemical
substances.

• Stimulus: A change in the environment.

• Response: A reaction to a stimulus.

 Characteristics of Living Things
10. Evolution

• Evolution is change in the

heritable characteristics of
biological populations over
successive generations.

• These characteristics are the

expressions of genes that are
passed on from parent to
offspring during reproduction.
 Living things vs. non-living things
Living Things Non-Living Things
They possess life. They do not possess life.
Living things are capable of Non-living things do not
giving birth to their young ones. reproduce.
For survival, living things depend Non-living things have no such
on water, air and food. requirements
Living things are sensitive and Non-living things are not sensitive
responsive to stimuli. and do not respond to stimuli.
Metabolic reactions constantly There are no metabolic reactions
occur in all living things. in Non-living things.
 Living things vs. non-living things
Living Things Non-Living Things
Living organisms undergo growth Non-living things do not grow or
and development. develop.
They have a lifespan and are not They have no lifespan and are
immortal. immortal.
Living things move from one place Non-living things cannot move by
to another. themselves.
They respire and the exchange of
Non-living things do not respire.
gases takes place in their cells.
Example: Humans, animals, plants, Example: Rock, pen, buildings,
insects. gadgets.