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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Paperback 320 pages
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Published: 2001 Basic Books

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Paperback 320 pages
ISBN: 0738204935
Salesrank: 1328618
Weight:1.19 lbs

Published: 2001 Perseus

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Paperback 320 pages
ISBN: 0738204935
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Published: 2001 Basic Books

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Product Description
The definitive story-in all its fascinating detail-of the search for life's beginnings. "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." -Nature Where 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

The definitive story-in all its fascinating detail-of the search for life's beginnings.

"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." -Nature

Where 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.

Scientifically Sound *****
Wills and Bada's book provides a good balance between scientific detail and readability, compared to most books on the origin of life. The answers presented for some of the main questions regarding the origin of life, such as where life first arose, are presented with some bias towards the authors' opinions. However, the authors usually mention other solutions currently being entertained by the scientific community, and provide their reasons for preferring a particular solution. In this way, Wills and Bada's book is less speculative and, in my opinion, more scientifically credible than some other books on the same topic that are too focused on one particular scenario for the origin of life, without citing alternative solutions or justifying their reasons for preferring a particular solution. Having read a good number of books on the origin of life, I would rate this book as one of the best for providing a solid introduction to the scientific search for the origin of life, particularly for those readers that are comfortable with technical terms that are about the level encountered in freshman year college science courses.

Scientifically Sound *****

Wills and Bada's book provides a good balance between scientific detail and readability, compared to most books on the origin of life. The answers presented for some of the main questions regarding the origin of life, such as where life first arose, are presented with some bias towards the authors' opinions. However, the authors usually mention other solutions currently being entertained by the scientific community, and provide their reasons for preferring a particular solution. In this way, Wills and Bada's book is less speculative and, in my opinion, more scientifically credible than some other books on the same topic that are too focused on one particular scenario for the origin of life, without citing alternative solutions or justifying their reasons for preferring a particular solution. Having read a good number of books on the origin of life, I would rate this book as one of the best for providing a solid introduction to the scientific search for the origin of life, particularly for those readers that are comfortable with technical terms that are about the level encountered in freshman year college science courses.

"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.

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.