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We identify "life" with the capability of self-replication plus some other features. In other conditions, for instance on other planets, it could be possible for self-replication to happen in a way different from the RNA/DNA-based one.
I remember stumbling, years ago, on research and papers that studied this kind of possibility. But I'm having a hard time finding the old references or new ones.
Do you have interesting papers and research material to share about this? Thank you!
I still remember the first time (as a layman) I studied the details of how DNA and genetics work.
You usually get the sense from popular science that DNA is just dices rolling and mixing up genes and everything is totally random, then as soon as you start looking up how things actually work, you find out that your body is composed of actually nanobots with some kind of will, or scope actually, that work within your body doing super complex tasks, and that as of today (well, as of when I read that 10 years ago) we yet don’t have a specific idea of how those nanobots move and reach the places they’re supposed to reach.
our body is an amazing machine, amazing in a way that goes waaaaay beyond our comprehension… I recently started studying the immune system and that’s even more amazing!
Absolutely amazing!! I suppose you've seen some renderings like this one.
However, these molecules don't really have a will or a scope, and in fact I don't like how they are deceivingly represented in some of these animations. These animations show, say, some aminoacid that goes almost straight towards some large molecule and does this and that. And one is left with the question: how does it get there and how does it "know" that it should get there? The answer is that it's just immersed in water and moved about by the unsystematic motion of the water molecules. Some aminoacids go here, some go there. In these animations they only show the ones that end up connecting with the large molecule. OK, this is done just to simplify the visualization, but it can also be misleading.
Similarly with molecules like kinesin, which seem to purposely walk around. Also in that case there's a lot of unsystematic motion, that after a while ends in a particular more stable configuration thanks to electromagnetic forces. Simulations such as this or this give a more realistic picture of these processes.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that the whole thing isn't awe-inspiring or mind blowing. It is. Actually I think that the more realistic picture (without these "purposeful" motions) leads to even more awe, because of the structured complexity that comes out of these unsystematic motions.
Totally agree! That kinesin walking animation has dealt untold damage onto the collective psyche 😂. It just looks sooo cool strutting along on its stroll, with purpose and determination! But the reality is more like the molecular dynamics simulation videos you posted - wacky waving inflatable arm flailing tube men all the way down.
dealt untold damage onto the collective psyche
Couldn't think of a better way to put it!!
Here's a paper about self-replicating proteins, and this one is about self-replicating clay crystal structures, and how they might have been catalysts for biomolecule synthesis.
Fantastic, thank you!