One of the great outstanding scientific mysteries is the origin of life. How did it happen? When I was a student, most scientists thought that life began with a stupendous chemical fluke, unique in the observable universe. Today it is fashionable to say that life is written into the laws of nature - easy to get started and therefore likely to be widespread in the universe. The truth is, nobody has a clue. It could be either extreme, or somewhere in the middle.
We may soon know the answer, though. The clincher would be the discovery of a second genesis on another planet, such as Mars. There is an easier possibility, however. If life really does form readily then we might expect it to have started many times over on Earth. There could be aliens right here, under our noses. Most life is microbial, and you can't tell just by ...
17:45 21 August 2008
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