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The stage is set for life, but how does the play open?

Seeking to answer this question, some scientists investigate liquid and atmospheric chemical combinations that, when sparked, spontaneously generate the components of all life. Others investigate RNA and DNA, key information molecules that make up genes. Yet others explore the potential for life to begin at deep-sea vents, or in “bubbles,” meaning greasy, bubblelike, pre-life droplets which might have provided hospitable enclosures. The surfaces of these droplets permit communication and exchange between inside and outside.

Absorbing solar energy, as well as organic matter from Earth, comets, and asteroids, these pre-life forms become increasingly complex. Growing, maintaining, and self-regulating, they transform subtly, amazingly into living cells.

Date Created

1997

Holding Institution

University of Montana--Missoula. Environmental Studies Program

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In Copyright

Rights Holder

© 1997 Stiftung Drittes Millennium

Item Type

Exhibit

Digital File Format

image/jpeg

Media Type

Text; Image

Digital Image Number

10_wtt_file01_1-19.jpg

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