The Theory of Special Creation
The theory of special creation is accepted by most of the world's religions. It stated that
life was created by the wishes of a divine being or some supernatural power, the
Creator or God. There are three important postulates in the theory of special creation.
These are(i) All the different kinds of life (microorganisms, fungi, algae, animals and plants) were
created at the same time or at short intervals without any relationship with one another.
(ii) They were created in the same form in which they exist at present, having
undergone no change since their creation.
(iii) Their bodies and organs have been specially designed to fully meet the needs of the
environment in which they have been created.
The theory of special creation is purely a religious concept, acceptable only on the
basis of faith. It is not a scientific fact. Scientific facts are based on natural laws.
Hence, it does not. enjoy general acceptance. Scientific truth is tentative for a scientist
whereas theological truth is absolute for atheist. The process of special creation
occurred only once. Therefore, it cannot be observed. Science relies on observation
and hence, cannot prove or disprove the special creation theory.
Cosmozoic theory (Theory of panspermia) given by Richter (1865), Helmholtz (1884),
Arrhenius (1908) suggested that life reached the earth from some heavenly body
through meteorites. Panspermia (primitive form of life, as suggested by Arrhenius,
1908) consisted of spores or seeds (sperms) and microbes that existed throughout
universe and produced different forms of life on this earth. The Cosmozoic Theory
proposes that life on earth did not actually originate on this planet, though there are
several other theories on how life actually did arrive. According to this theory,
‘protoplasm’ reached the earth in the form of spores or germs or other simple particles
from some unknown part of the universe with the cosmic dust, and subsequently
evolved into various forms of life. Helmholz (1884) speculated that ‘protoplasm’ in some
form reached the earth with falling meteorites. Evidences against Cosmozoic Theory:
Living matter cannot survive the extreme cold, dryness and ultra-violet radiation from
the sun required to be crossed for reaching the earth.
The theory of special creation is the theory that Earth and living organisms we’re
created by a special single entity, more commonly known as God. Many religions
believe that living organisms were created in their current, present day form, ultimately
claiming that living beings have the inability to evolve and/or adapt (Author Unknown
2004, A Dictionary of Biology, Oxford University Press). A specific example of a special
creation theory is the religion of Christianity, this religion is the worlds most followed of
all religions, (2.1 billion adherents). The book of Genesis is the basis of this religion and
in it, it states that the Earth was a void of darkness and that God over a period of 6 days
created night and day, water and land, vegetation, the sun and moon and evidently
living creatures. (The book of Genesis, http://www.vatican.va/). Faith is the foundation of
this theory; in no way is it scientific. In saying that, this theory cannot be proved nor
disproved therefore it remains at a deadlock so it continues to be a valid concept (The
Origin of Life, 2004 Pearson). Scientists came to a conclusion that the first forms of life
were simple organisms, for example cells. This contradicts with the theory of Special
Creation as it clearly states in the Book of Genesis that every creature was created in its
existing form, as opposed to the development from cells to more complex life forms
(Kennedy, Aubusson & Hickman 2009) If unfamiliar with the religion of Christianity, this
video will inform you on the basics.
Spontaneous generation was widely believed before Redi's and Louis Pastour's
experiments. Life springing into existence could be observed in multiple places in the
world.
Redi's experiment excluding flies from the meat proved that without life no life came into
existence spontaneously
Louis Pastour's experiments with wine proved that if "germs" in the air could be
prevented from entering the wine no life came into existence spontaneously.
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These experiment formed the basis of the theory of biogenesis that life comes only from
life and the cells come only from cells.
However the world view of the enlightenment believed that everything must happen by
natural cause. So if there was a time when there was no life then life must have logically
come from non life. This view gave rise to the theory of abiogensis that somehow in the
early history of the earth a living cell was formed by accidental natural causes.
The living cell is an amazingly complex structure requiring information codes that can be
replicated and passed on to future generations. The living cell also requires
complex proteins and enzymes in order to survive an environment that always moves
toward destruction and disorder.
At this point in time there are no credible theories about how the first cell could have
come about by totally natural causes. So abiogensis remains an unsupported theory
demanded only by the world view of material realism
Biogenesis is any process by which lifeforms produce other lifeforms. For example,
a spider lays eggs that become other spiders. This premise historically contrasted
with the ancient belief in spontaneous generation, which held that certain inorganic
substances, left alone, give rise to life (such as bacteria, mice and maggots) in a
matter of days. The premise of biogenesis had been suspected long before being
definitively demonstrated. A demonstrative experiment, which showed biogenesis
right down to the bacterial level, was devised by Louis Pasteur in 1859.
The Oparin-Haldane theory
In the 1920s British scientist J.B.S. Haldane and Russian biochemist Aleksandr
Oparin independently set forth similar ideas concerning the conditions required for the
origin of life on Earth. Both believed that organic molecules could be formed from
abiogenic materials in the presence of an external energy source (e.g., ultraviolet
radiation) and that the primitive atmosphere was reducing (having very low amounts of
free oxygen) and contained ammonia and water vapour, among other gases. Both also
suspected that the first life-forms appeared in the warm, primitive ocean and were
heterotrophic (obtaining preformed nutrients from the compounds in existence on early
Earth) rather than autotrophic (generating food and nutrients from sunlight or inorganic
materials).
Oparin believed that life developed from coacervates, microscopic spontaneously
formed spherical aggregates of lipid molecules that are held together by electrostatic
forces and that may have been precursors of cells. Oparin’s work with coacervates
confirmed that enzymes fundamental for the biochemical reactions
of metabolism functioned more efficiently when contained within membrane-bound
spheres than when free in aqueous solutions. Haldane, unfamiliar with Oparin’s
coacervates, believed that simple organic molecules formed first and in the presence of
ultraviolet light became increasingly complex, ultimately forming cells. Haldane and
Oparin’s ideas formed the foundation for much of the research on abiogenesis that took
place in later decades.
What is Coacervation theory?
Uncategorized
What is the theory of coacervation? A.I., a Russian biochemist, expressed his theory. In
1936, Oparin claimed that the formation of mixed colloidal units known as ‘coacervates’
preceded the origin of life.
Protein, lipid, or nucleic acid particles are made up of two or more colloids. Who
proposed the coacervate theory? While studying lyophilic colloidal dispersions, Dutch
chemist Hendrik G. Bungenberg de Jong and Hugo R. Kruyt coined the term coacervate
in 1929. The name refers to colloidal particle clustering, similar to bee clustering in a
swarm.
What is the difference between coacervate and protocell? Coacervate droplets act as
compartments that sequester and concentrate a variety of solutes, and their
spontaneous formation makes them attractive protocell models. What are the benefits of
coacervates? Oparin’s coacervates are aqueous structures that have a boundary with
the rest of the aqueous medium.
They have self-replication properties and provide a pathway to a primitive metabolism
through chemical competition and, as a result, primitive selection. Coacervates, on the
other hand, are excellent proto-cell models.
J. B. S. Haldane and the origin of life
Stéphane Tirard 1
Affiliations expand
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PMID: 29237880
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DOI: 10.1007/s12041-017-0831-6
Free article
Abstract
In 1929 the British biologist John Burdon Sanderson Haldane published a hypothesis on
the origin of life on earth, which was one of the most emblematic of the interwar period.
It was a scenario describing the progressive evolution of matter on the primitive earth
and the emergence of life. Firstly, this paper presents the main ideas put forward by
Haldane in this famous text. The second part makes comparisons between Haldane
and Alexander Ivanovitch Oparin's ideas regarding the origins of life (1924). These two
theories, apparently very similar, presented distinct conclusions. The third part focusses
on Haldane's reflections on the emergence of life during the 1950s and 1960s, and
shows how they were linked to the recent developments of prebiotic chemistry and
molecular biology.
The definition of the Miller-Urey Experiment
The Miller-Urey Experiment is a key test tube earth experiment which kick-started
evidence-based research into the origin of life on earth. It was an experiment that tested
the Oparin-Haldane Hypothesis which was, at the time, a highly regarded theory for the
evolution of life on earth through chemical evolution.
What was the Oparin-Haldane Hypothesis?
The Oparin-Haldane Hypothesis suggested life emerged from a series of step by step
reactions between inorganic matter driven by a large energy input. 1 These reactions
initially produced the 'building blocks' of life (e.g., amino acids and nucleotides), then
more and more complex molecules until primitive life forms arose.
Miller and Urey set out to demonstrate that organic molecules could be produced from
the simple inorganic molecules present in the primordial soup as the Oparin-Haldane
Hypothesis suggested.
We now refer to their experiments as the Miller-Urey Experiment and credit the
scientists with uncovering the first significant evidence for the origin of life through
chemical evolution.
The Oparin-Haldane Hypothesis--note that this point is important--described life
emerging in the oceans and under methane-rich reducing atmospheric conditions.
So these were the conditions that Miller and Urey attempted to mimic.
Reducing atmosphere: An oxygen-deprived atmosphere where oxidation can't occur,
or occurs at very low levels.
Oxidizing atmosphere: An oxygen-rich atmosphere where molecules in the form of
released gases and surface material are oxidized to a higher state.
Miller and Urey attempted to recreate the reducing primordial atmospheric conditions
laid out by Oparin and Haldane (Figure 1) by combining four gases in an enclosed
environment:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Water vapor
Methane
Ammonia
Molecular hydrogen
The pair of scientists then stimulated their faux atmosphere with electrical pules to
simulate energy provided by lightning, UV rays or hydrothermal vents and left the
experiment running to see if the building blocks for life would form.
Fossils are the preserved remains, or traces of remains,
of ancient organisms. Fossils are not the remains of the organism itself! They are rocks.
A fossil can preserve an entire organism or just part of one. Bones, shells, feathers, and
leaves can all become fossils. Fossils can be very large or very small. Microfossils are
only visible with a microscope. Bacteria and pollen are microfossils. Macrofossils can be
several meters long and weigh several tons. Macrofossils can be petrified trees or
dinosaur bones. Preserved remains become fossils if they reach an age of about 10,000
years. Fossils can come from the Archaeaean Eon (which began almost 4 billion years
ago) all the way up to the Holocene Epoch (which continues today). The fossilized teeth
of wooly mammoths are some of our most "recent" fossils. Some of the
oldest fossils are those of ancient algae that lived in the ocean more than 3 billion years
ago. Fossilization The word fossil comes from the Latin word fossus, meaning "having
been dug up." Fossils are often found in rock formations deep in the
earth. Fossilization is the process of remains becoming fossils. Fossilization is rare.
Most organisms decompose fairly quickly after they die. For an organism to
be fossilized, the remains usually need to be covered by sediment soon after
death. Sediment can include the sandy seafloor, lava, and even sticky tar. Over
time, minerals in the sediment seep into the remains.
The remains become fossilized. Fossilization usually occur in organisms with hard, bony
body parts, such as skeletons, teeth, or shells. Soft-bodied organisms, such as worms,
are rarely fossilized. Sometimes, however, the sticky resin of a tree can
become fossilized. This is called fossilized resin or amber. Amber can preserve the
bodies of many delicate, soft-bodied organisms, such as ants, flies, and
mosquitoes. Body Fossils and Trace Fossils The fossils of bones, teeth, and shells
are called body fossils. Most dinosaur fossils are collections of body fossils.
The geologic time scale, or geological time scale, (GTS) is a representation
of time based on the rock record of Earth. It is a system of chronological dating that
uses chronostratigraphy (the process of relating strata to time)
and geochronology (scientific branch of geology that aims to determine the age of
rocks). It is used primarily by Earth
scientists (including geologists, paleontologists, geophysicists, geochemists,
and paleoclimatologists) to describe the timing and relationships of events in geologic
history. The time scale has been developed through the study of rock layers and the
observation of their relationships and identifying features such
as lithologies, paleomagnetic properties, and fossils. The definition of standardized
international units of geologic time is the responsibility of the International Commission
on Stratigraphy (ICS), a constituent body of the International Union of Geological
Sciences (IUGS), whose primary objective[1] is to precisely define global
chronostratigraphic units of the International Chronostratigraphic Chart (ICC)[2] that are
used to define divisions of geologic time. The chronostratigraphic divisions are in turn
used to define geochronologic units.[2]