Pioneering the Search for the Origin of Life
Oparin blazed the trail for how we look for the origin of life on Earth and in our Universe
Blazing the trail…
In 1924 a dapper, bow-tied Soviet botanist and biochemist named Alexander Oparin published a very influential book called The Origin of Life. In this book Oparin speculated that Life arose from purely chemical processes, starting with very basic and simple gases including methane, ammonia, hydrogen and water. These were the hypothesized raw materials for complex organic compounds and ultimately for living organisms.
According to Oparin, the gases initially reacted to form simple organic molecules, which gradually gained complexity and new properties. These non-living, increasingly complex chemicals followed a Darwinian process of competition and natural selection, and accumulated in the primitive ocean to form a primordial soup. The chemicals self-organized within this soup, and eventually formed the first proto-cell.
Oparin was a pioneer in the search for the origin of life on Earth and in the Universe, and significantly influenced origin of life research for decades after his publication, indeed to this day. This is a brief look at his contributions and the scientific trail he forged.
