Posted: Mar 04, 2010 10:22 am
natselrox wrote:Just a reminder, rainbow. You aren't refuting Calilasseia here. You are refuting those bracketed numbers.
It is a Critique, not a Refutation. Please be aware of the difference.
Here is where it gets a bit wobbly:
The formation of amino acids itself, whilst an important step in any naturalistic origin of life, would need to be accompanied by some means of linking those amino acids into peptide molecules[17] - the process by which proteins are formed. A significant step forward with respect to this, arose when researchers alighted upon the fact that carbonyl sulphide, a gas that is produced in quantity naturally by volcanoes, acts as a catalyst for the formation of peptides, increasing yields dramatically[18]. This would facilitate peptide formation not only in the vicinity of hydrothermal vents, but in the vicinity of terrestrial volcanoes close to bodies of open water.
There is no explanation as to why the formation of amino acids should be 'an important step in any naturalistic origin of life', nor is it stated why they would need to be formed into peptide molecules. I can't find a single paper of any serious current researcher into Abiogenesis that still supports the Protein First Model.
Indeed, Miller had produced the 22 amino acids found in some of his reaction mixtures by extending the synthesis to include volcanic input, though not carbonyl sulphide - the addition of carbonyl sulphide would, however, facilitate peptide formation rapidly once the amino acids themselves were formed.
A bit of a confused statement if ever there was one. If Miller had included COS in his experiments, he might have made some polypeptides, but he didn't.