Posted: Mar 06, 2010 2:23 pm
rainbow wrote:Lipid World
This theory postulates that the first self-replicating object was lipid-like. It is known that phospholipids form bilayers in water while under agitation– the same structure as in cell membranes. These molecules were not present on early earth, however other amphiphilic long chain molecules also form membranes. Furthermore, these bodies may expand (by insertion of additional lipids), and under excessive expansion may undergo spontaneous splitting which preserves the same size and composition of lipids in the two progenies. The main idea in this theory is that the molecular composition of the lipid bodies is the preliminary way for information storage, and evolution led to the appearance of polymer entities such as RNA or DNA that may store information favorably. Still, no biochemical mechanism has been offered to support the Lipid World theory.
http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Abiogenesis
Can anyone present any evidence to contradict the statement contained in this article wrt Phospholipids?
As I told you already rainbow. Recent evidence points away from a lipid world hypothesis.