Christopher Wills and Jeffrey Bada

The Spark of Life

There is currently a great deal of discussion about how life arose from the mixture of chemicals present on the early Earth. Did it begin at hydrothermal vents, did it go via an 'RNA world' or is there some explanation which we haven't thought of yet. There are plenty of books which go into detail of the current state of this discussion and the experiments which are being performed. 'The Spark of Life' considers these issues, but takes a wider viewpoint than most books, taking the reader on a journey from the beginning of the earth to the development of the eukaryotic cell.

The first chapter looks at the history of ideas concerning the origin of life, and in particular of spontaneous generation. The book then examines the possible ways in which life might have arisen, and how scientists might hope to 'join up' what the fossil record tells us about early living cells with the results of experiments simulating the early conditions on the earth. The last three chapters look at the nature of living cells deep in the earths crust, how symbiosis might have affected evolution, and the possibilities for extraterrestrial life.

Some books on the subject suffer from the problem of using increasingly technical words as they progress. Mostly 'The Spark of Life' isn't difficult to follow, but I did find that in places the word length tended to increase, making it harder going.

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Product Description
"A highly readable survey of the historical prelude to the study of the origins of life, as well as selected areas of current research, including the search for extraterrestrial life."-NatureWhere did we come from? Did life arise on earth or on some other planet? What did the earliest primitive organisms look like? Untangling a century of contentious debate, the authors explore current theories of the source of life-from Martian meteors to hydrothermal vents-and then present their own elegant scenario: Life arose not in the subterranean depths, as many believe, but on Earth's tumultuous surface, where a primitive form of natural selection spawned the first genetic material, perhaps in the form of a proto-virus. Knowing exactly how life began on Earth will not only teach us more about ourselves, it will bring us closer to finding life elsewhere.

Product Description

"A highly readable survey of the historical prelude to the study of the origins of life, as well as selected areas of current research, including the search for extraterrestrial life."-NatureWhere did we come from? Did life arise on earth or on some other planet? What did the earliest primitive organisms look like? Untangling a century of contentious debate, the authors explore current theories of the source of life-from Martian meteors to hydrothermal vents-and then present their own elegant scenario: Life arose not in the subterranean depths, as many believe, but on Earth's tumultuous surface, where a primitive form of natural selection spawned the first genetic material, perhaps in the form of a proto-virus. Knowing exactly how life began on Earth will not only teach us more about ourselves, it will bring us closer to finding life elsewhere.

"Warm little pond" reprise ****
The issue of life's origins has long been troubling to scientists and lay observers alike. When Charles Darwin wrote to Joseph Hooker that life likely formed in "some warm little pond" from elemental chemicals, he set in motion years of study by countless researchers. The question hinged on what was necessary to initiate "the spark of life". Wills and Bada recount much of the work done to explain that obscure beginning. For them, the pivotal event is the famous Miller-Urey experiment of the 1950s. First hailed as a, perhaps "the", major breakthrough, it was challenged and suffered from more updated information. The authors revive the original concept, enlarging it to restore its validity. The means they use to achieve this is two-pronged: an investigation of life from "the bottom up" matched by another from "the top down". Wills and Bada clearly wish to update the reading public in what has transpired in "origins of life" research since Stanley Miller zapped his own "little pond" in a sealed flask. They acknowledge the objections later researchers posed about Earth's early environment. They also confront the scenarios offered by Graham Cairns Smith and Gunter Wachtershauser. The former suggested organic compounds might "learn" replication from clay crystals, while the latter suggested the energy transfer methods associated with iron pyrites would support metabolic paths prior to the formation of cells. Wachtershauser's mechanism, they admit, works admirably in the environment of sea-floor vents, which were almost certainly present on the early Earth. Yet, attractive as both suggestions are, the authors find updated versions of the original Miller-Urey more convincing. The issue is, of course, Darwin's evolution by natural selection. How early in life's beginnings could "selection" begin its winnowing process? Building up molecules that will ultimately establish life-sustaining forms is unsatisfactory. In order to function, selection must have replication and variation in place. The replication means sustained patterns of one form, while variation suggests many types of forms allowing selection to take place in a stable environment. That, insist the authors, means something like a gene must have been established reasonably early in life. Since a gene's task is the production of proteins which accelerate the process, there must have been a feedback loop system in action. For some, this structure suggests an early form of RNA, leading to what they call "the RNA world". The authors contend that RNA, even in simple form, is still too complex and fragile a molecule to have survived Earth's harsh conditions. Instead, they propose what they deem a "Peptide Nucleic Acid" or "PNA". Not suffering RNA's delicate nature, PNA in various forms could find havens in tidal pools, tenaciously bound to rocks and forming oily films as protection against desiccating sunlight. Thus Darwin's "warm little pond" finds vindication 150 years later, buttressed by Miller and Urey's experiment and better understanding of biochemical processes. All this may sound like intimidating reading. It's far from that. The authors have gone to some effort to keep the language in this work clear and explicit. They build their case carefully, leaving the reader in no doubt of their intention and the significance of their points. They provide reasonably expressed counters to other proposals, carefully explaining the reasons for their own objections to earlier hypotheses. Beyond these considerations, they also discuss the possibilities of extra-terrestrial life, particularly that on Mars and satellites of the giant planets, Jupiter and Saturn. To enhance this discussion, a number of William Hartmann's paintings are included. They are lovely, but add little to the discussion. Other illustrative material is more cogent to the theme. One might also wish that the authors had found a synonym for "primeval soup". I lost count of the number of times it's used. The book is a worthwhile read, but isn't the final answer on the questions of life's origins. [stephen a. haines - Ottawa, Canada]

"Warm little pond" reprise ****

The issue of life's origins has long been troubling to scientists and lay observers alike. When Charles Darwin wrote to Joseph Hooker that life likely formed in "some warm little pond" from elemental chemicals, he set in motion years of study by countless researchers. The question hinged on what was necessary to initiate "the spark of life". Wills and Bada recount much of the work done to explain that obscure beginning. For them, the pivotal event is the famous Miller-Urey experiment of the 1950s. First hailed as a, perhaps "the", major breakthrough, it was challenged and suffered from more updated information. The authors revive the original concept, enlarging it to restore its validity. The means they use to achieve this is two-pronged: an investigation of life from "the bottom up" matched by another from "the top down".

Wills and Bada clearly wish to update the reading public in what has transpired in "origins of life" research since Stanley Miller zapped his own "little pond" in a sealed flask. They acknowledge the objections later researchers posed about Earth's early environment. They also confront the scenarios offered by Graham Cairns Smith and Gunter Wachtershauser. The former suggested organic compounds might "learn" replication from clay crystals, while the latter suggested the energy transfer methods associated with iron pyrites would support metabolic paths prior to the formation of cells. Wachtershauser's mechanism, they admit, works admirably in the environment of sea-floor vents, which were almost certainly present on the early Earth. Yet, attractive as both suggestions are, the authors find updated versions of the original Miller-Urey more convincing.

The issue is, of course, Darwin's evolution by natural selection. How early in life's beginnings could "selection" begin its winnowing process? Building up molecules that will ultimately establish life-sustaining forms is unsatisfactory. In order to function, selection must have replication and variation in place. The replication means sustained patterns of one form, while variation suggests many types of forms allowing selection to take place in a stable environment. That, insist the authors, means something like a gene must have been established reasonably early in life. Since a gene's task is the production of proteins which accelerate the process, there must have been a feedback loop system in action. For some, this structure suggests an early form of RNA, leading to what they call "the RNA world". The authors contend that RNA, even in simple form, is still too complex and fragile a molecule to have survived Earth's harsh conditions. Instead, they propose what they deem a "Peptide Nucleic Acid" or "PNA". Not suffering RNA's delicate nature, PNA in various forms could find havens in tidal pools, tenaciously bound to rocks and forming oily films as protection against desiccating sunlight. Thus Darwin's "warm little pond" finds vindication 150 years later, buttressed by Miller and Urey's experiment and better understanding of biochemical processes.

All this may sound like intimidating reading. It's far from that. The authors have gone to some effort to keep the language in this work clear and explicit. They build their case carefully, leaving the reader in no doubt of their intention and the significance of their points. They provide reasonably expressed counters to other proposals, carefully explaining the reasons for their own objections to earlier hypotheses. Beyond these considerations, they also discuss the possibilities of extra-terrestrial life, particularly that on Mars and satellites of the giant planets, Jupiter and Saturn. To enhance this discussion, a number of William Hartmann's paintings are included. They are lovely, but add little to the discussion. Other illustrative material is more cogent to the theme. One might also wish that the authors had found a synonym for "primeval soup". I lost count of the number of times it's used. The book is a worthwhile read, but isn't the final answer on the questions of life's origins. [stephen a. haines - Ottawa, Canada]

Good Overview of Scientific Origin of Life Hypotheses *****
This is a good popular book on the current hypotheses of how the first complex molecules may have combined to form the fundamental structures of early replicating systems. After a good brief historical survey that shows some of the problems previous encountered, the authors examine a variety of possible scenarios as to how a "primordial" chemical soup could have given rise to more complex structures, metabolism, and genetic information containing molecules. The authors, both of whom are well known and respected known scientists have a writing style that is easy to read and the level of the material should be reasonably accessible to even high school level readers. A couple of minor errors that anyone could make on the first edition were corrected in the later editions.

Good Overview of Scientific Origin of Life Hypotheses *****

This is a good popular book on the current hypotheses of how the first complex molecules may have combined to form the fundamental structures of early replicating systems. After a good brief historical survey that shows some of the problems previous encountered, the authors examine a variety of possible scenarios as to how a "primordial" chemical soup could have given rise to more complex structures, metabolism, and genetic information containing molecules. The authors, both of whom are well known and respected known scientists have a writing style that is easy to read and the level of the material should be reasonably accessible to even high school level readers. A couple of minor errors that anyone could make on the first edition were corrected in the later editions.

The spark of life **
This book starts out fine as to laying out the different scenarios for life's origins , but one has to read it cautiously because it is filled with the biases of the authors, occasionally lacking a balanced scientific perspective on the origins of life.

The spark of life **

This book starts out fine as to laying out the different scenarios for life's origins , but one has to read it cautiously because it is filled with the biases of the authors, occasionally lacking a balanced scientific perspective on the origins of life.

Getting the Chemistry right **
I have noticed that some biologists have a kind of arrogance about chemistry. "I don't have to know the chemistry!" To a certain extent, it's true that in some branches of biology you can have a very productive career without ever really knowing the chemical details that underlie the biology you're working on. However, a poor grasp of chemistry can also lead you to fall on your face in an embarrassing way, and that's what happens at one point (at least!) in "Spark of Life." Authors who get the chemistry right in writing about the origin of life can extend previous theories in interesting ways. Christian de Duve, the Nobel Prize winner who wrote "Vital Dust" does exactly that, presenting the idea that protein-based life preceded an RNA takeover. The current enthusiasm for an RNA world as the original form of life on Earth is mostly being promulgated by people who don't really understand how nucleotides behave. As I said before, this includes a lot of biologists. Robert Shapiro's books (he gets it right, too) explain clearly how totally unlikely it is to have rich concentrations of RNA nucleotides lying around in puddles waiting to combine into nascent RNA polymers. On the other hand, this is a very likely thing to happen in cells that are using ATP and other triphosphates for energy storage. There they are, it's easy to polymerize them. Getting the chemistry right doesn't guarantee you'll get the theory right -- Michael Behe gets the chemistry right, as well. But getting the chemistry wrong can lead down the path of error. I think if Lynn Margulis really understood the difference between Diphytanyl ethers and fatty acid bilayers, she'd see that Archaea are wildly different from "regular" Eubacteria. OK, so this is a review of "Spark of Life." What Wills and Bada did that made me lose all confidence in their knowledge of primordial soup is this. There are four "bases" used in RNA -- Uracil, =Cytosine=, Adenine, and Guanine. Any undergraduate taking Biochem or MolBio knows this. But Wills and Bada and their editors and readers apparently do not. Thus the statement on page 109: "Another example is cytosine, an essential nucleobase of DNA. ... cytosine is unstable and decomposes quickly. It may not be a coincidence that RNA, which probably appeared before DNA, uses the more stable molecule uracil instead of cytosine." Now, this isn't a typo, or a "word-o." There is nothing in the biochemistry of RNA that corresponds to the paragraph above. RNA uses both Uracil and Cytosine. Thymine is used in DNA rather than Uracil -- but the issue is not stability but information. Thymine has an extra methyl which allows it to be distinguished from the Uracil produced when Cytosine inevitably breaks down. So, I am supposed to learn about the primordial soup from people who can't remember what RNA is made of?? There are other irritations as well. The use of "Darwin" to personify selective processes is juvenile, precious, and off-putting. An example from page 112-3: "organic molecules ... awaited the firm hand of Darwin, who would decide which of them would 'live' or 'die'." I can't see who would enjoy this book. I read avidly about the origin of life but how can I believe Wills and Bada have any grip on this material given their chemical howler?? I am basically amazed at the positive reviews the book has received so far. I don't find it useful at all.

Getting the Chemistry right **

I have noticed that some biologists have a kind of arrogance about chemistry. "I don't have to know the chemistry!" To a certain extent, it's true that in some branches of biology you can have a very productive career without ever really knowing the chemical details that underlie the biology you're working on. However, a poor grasp of chemistry can also lead you to fall on your face in an embarrassing way, and that's what happens at one point (at least!) in "Spark of Life."

Authors who get the chemistry right in writing about the origin of life can extend previous theories in interesting ways. Christian de Duve, the Nobel Prize winner who wrote "Vital Dust" does exactly that, presenting the idea that protein-based life preceded an RNA takeover. The current enthusiasm for an RNA world as the original form of life on Earth is mostly being promulgated by people who don't really understand how nucleotides behave. As I said before, this includes a lot of biologists. Robert Shapiro's books (he gets it right, too) explain clearly how totally unlikely it is to have rich concentrations of RNA nucleotides lying around in puddles waiting to combine into nascent RNA polymers. On the other hand, this is a very likely thing to happen in cells that are using ATP and other triphosphates for energy storage. There they are, it's easy to polymerize them.

Getting the chemistry right doesn't guarantee you'll get the theory right -- Michael Behe gets the chemistry right, as well. But getting the chemistry wrong can lead down the path of error. I think if Lynn Margulis really understood the difference between Diphytanyl ethers and fatty acid bilayers, she'd see that Archaea are wildly different from "regular" Eubacteria.

OK, so this is a review of "Spark of Life." What Wills and Bada did that made me lose all confidence in their knowledge of primordial soup is this. There are four "bases" used in RNA -- Uracil, =Cytosine=, Adenine, and Guanine. Any undergraduate taking Biochem or MolBio knows this. But Wills and Bada and their editors and readers apparently do not. Thus the statement on page 109:

"Another example is cytosine, an essential nucleobase of DNA. ... cytosine is unstable and decomposes quickly. It may not be a coincidence that RNA, which probably appeared before DNA, uses the more stable molecule uracil instead of cytosine."

Now, this isn't a typo, or a "word-o." There is nothing in the biochemistry of RNA that corresponds to the paragraph above. RNA uses both Uracil and Cytosine. Thymine is used in DNA rather than Uracil -- but the issue is not stability but information. Thymine has an extra methyl which allows it to be distinguished from the Uracil produced when Cytosine inevitably breaks down. So, I am supposed to learn about the primordial soup from people who can't remember what RNA is made of??

There are other irritations as well. The use of "Darwin" to personify selective processes is juvenile, precious, and off-putting. An example from page 112-3:

"organic molecules ... awaited the firm hand of Darwin, who would decide which of them would 'live' or 'die'."

I can't see who would enjoy this book. I read avidly about the origin of life but how can I believe Wills and Bada have any grip on this material given their chemical howler?? I am basically amazed at the positive reviews the book has received so far. I don't find it useful at all.

Excellent introductory text on abiogenesis *****
I read a lot of material on the origin of life. Having run across Jeffery Bada's writings in some books, as well as on his web page, in the peer-reviewed journal `Science', and in popular science journals such as `The Sciences', I regarded Bada as an honest scientist: one who presents an even-handed accounting of material and evidence. I have always found his fairness and willingness to express his skepticism to be quite refreshing, especially since the topic of the origin of life can have major philosophical and religious ramifications (many scientists present only the positive evidences, hide the conflicting evidences, and do their utmost to shove their materialistic philosophy down the reader's throats). Bada holds firmly to a purely-natural origin of life, but he does not allow his worldview to bias his work - he is true to scientific evidences foremost. I expected the same from him when I heard of his book. When I read "The Spark of Life", I was not disappointed. Bada - and apparently the lead author, Christopher Wills, as well - present the reader with an honest coverage of the details, along the lines of, "According to this theory, ..., but keep in mind that....". As another reviewer noted, the authors present the reader with both sides of the argument and allow the reader to come to his or her own conclusion: the authors do not insist on telling you what you must think. For their maintenance of integrity in what can be a rather volatile subject, I commend the authors and "award" them 5 stars. But the praise does not end there. They provide an up-to-date, broad, introductory coverage of the OOL field. If you know nothing about it at all, you can sit down and read the book and understand almost every sentence, and when you have completed reading the book, you will be up to speed on almost all aspects. This is probably the best introductory book on the origin of life I have read to date. Again, worthy of 5 stars. However, note that the book is at the introductory level. It is written in everyday language and does not delve into the confusing and overwhelming complexities of organic chemistry or molecular cell biology. Those who have already read "The Molecular Origins of Life: Assembling Pieces of the Puzzle" will not find anywhere near the level of detail in "The Spark of Life" as they did in "The Molecular Origins of Life": I would recommend this book to those readers only if they found the other book "over their heads", or too-narrowly focussed. But this does not detract from "The Spark of Life" at all. It was not aimed at the research scientist as the other book was. Finally, I would like to briefly address an error the authors make. On page 109, they mistakenly mention cytosine instead of thymine. This would be a major blunder under normal circumstances, but it is absolutely trivial in the book. Why? Because the mistake is isolated: it affects only two sentences out of the entire book - no other sentence anywhere in the book is based on, or references, this oversight. While writing, an author's neurons apparently got crossed temporarily and wrote the wrong word: something the author obviously realized was wrong after the book went to press. This had to be an honest mistake - not a sign of ignorance. Again, it in no way detracts from the book's integrity.

Excellent introductory text on abiogenesis *****

I read a lot of material on the origin of life. Having run across Jeffery Bada's writings in some books, as well as on his web page, in the peer-reviewed journal `Science', and in popular science journals such as `The Sciences', I regarded Bada as an honest scientist: one who presents an even-handed accounting of material and evidence. I have always found his fairness and willingness to express his skepticism to be quite refreshing, especially since the topic of the origin of life can have major philosophical and religious ramifications (many scientists present only the positive evidences, hide the conflicting evidences, and do their utmost to shove their materialistic philosophy down the reader's throats). Bada holds firmly to a purely-natural origin of life, but he does not allow his worldview to bias his work - he is true to scientific evidences foremost. I expected the same from him when I heard of his book. When I read "The Spark of Life", I was not disappointed. Bada - and apparently the lead author, Christopher Wills, as well - present the reader with an honest coverage of the details, along the lines of, "According to this theory, ..., but keep in mind that....". As another reviewer noted, the authors present the reader with both sides of the argument and allow the reader to come to his or her own conclusion: the authors do not insist on telling you what you must think. For their maintenance of integrity in what can be a rather volatile subject, I commend the authors and "award" them 5 stars.

But the praise does not end there. They provide an up-to-date, broad, introductory coverage of the OOL field. If you know nothing about it at all, you can sit down and read the book and understand almost every sentence, and when you have completed reading the book, you will be up to speed on almost all aspects. This is probably the best introductory book on the origin of life I have read to date. Again, worthy of 5 stars.

However, note that the book is at the introductory level. It is written in everyday language and does not delve into the confusing and overwhelming complexities of organic chemistry or molecular cell biology. Those who have already read "The Molecular Origins of Life: Assembling Pieces of the Puzzle" will not find anywhere near the level of detail in "The Spark of Life" as they did in "The Molecular Origins of Life": I would recommend this book to those readers only if they found the other book "over their heads", or too-narrowly focussed. But this does not detract from "The Spark of Life" at all. It was not aimed at the research scientist as the other book was.

Finally, I would like to briefly address an error the authors make. On page 109, they mistakenly mention cytosine instead of thymine. This would be a major blunder under normal circumstances, but it is absolutely trivial in the book. Why? Because the mistake is isolated: it affects only two sentences out of the entire book - no other sentence anywhere in the book is based on, or references, this oversight. While writing, an author's neurons apparently got crossed temporarily and wrote the wrong word: something the author obviously realized was wrong after the book went to press. This had to be an honest mistake - not a sign of ignorance. Again, it in no way detracts from the book's integrity.

A higly radable survey of the study of the origins of life ****
Christopher Wills and Jeffrey Darwin provide an easily readable and compelling account of the present state of research into the origins of life. The conventional wisdom says that life evolved from the simple organic precursor molecules. To date there is much controversy surrounding the actual breeding ground for such complex molecules, which formed the machinery of replicating life. Many believe that deep-sea vents provided the necessary conditions for the emergence of life. In the spark of life the authors stress some of the more overlooked short fallings of this 'ventist' paradigm. Also discussed is the transport of interplanetary dust as a possible supply of more complex molecules and the changing conditions on earth over geological time scales.

A higly radable survey of the study of the origins of life ****

Christopher Wills and Jeffrey Darwin provide an easily readable and compelling account of the present state of research into the origins of life. The conventional wisdom says that life evolved from the simple organic precursor molecules. To date there is much controversy surrounding the actual breeding ground for such complex molecules, which formed the machinery of replicating life. Many believe that deep-sea vents provided the necessary conditions for the emergence of life. In the spark of life the authors stress some of the more overlooked short fallings of this 'ventist' paradigm. Also discussed is the transport of interplanetary dust as a possible supply of more complex molecules and the changing conditions on earth over geological time scales.