How did abiogenesis happen?

The idea of abiogenesis holds that nonliving matter is the source of life.

According to cell theory, life originates from life, or more accurately, cells originate from other cells.

According to abiogenesis, the theory of cell theory is incorrect and that cells originated accidentally, randomly, and naturally at some point in the distant past.

The majority of scientific endeavor is based on the search for natural causes to explain what is seen and observed. This is based on reasoning from a materialistic realism world view.

The hypothesis of biogenesis derives from the idea that, if everything occurs for natural reasons, the first cell must have originated from non-living matter.

Charles Darwin conjectured that life originated in a warm pond where pre-organic molecules came together to form the first "simple" cell, staring the process of evolution that accounts for all living things. Scientists have been searching for explanations for how life could start from non-life.

Another theory holds that the first protocells of life originated in volcanic vents located deep beneath the ocean, where they were protected from destruction by oxygen, lightning strikes, and other environmental changes. Primate forms of bacteria have been found in these vents, and they derive their energy not from photosynthesis but from sulfur and other complex energy molecules that are released into the atmosphere.

There are scientists who believe that the first DNA or RNA originated in clay crystals; crystals may have served as the nucleic acid lattice that allowed life to proliferate.

Some scientists speculate that life originated in space because it is difficult to form the complex structure of a living cell, which requires both proteins and nucleic acid for reproduction. They suggest that the cells may have traveled from Mars or another planet on an astroid or that the material for the cells may have come from a comet.

In other words, the exact mechanism of biogenesis remains unknown, but it had to occur if cells originated solely from natural processes.

Abiogenesis is the scientific hypothesis that life arose from non-living matter through natural processes. While the exact mechanisms of abiogenesis are not fully understood, several theories propose possible pathways:

1. Primordial Soup Theory: This theory suggests that life originated in a "soup" of organic molecules, such as amino acids, sugars, and nucleotides, that formed in Earth's early oceans through chemical reactions.

2. Deep-Sea Vent Theory: According to this theory, life may have originated near hydrothermal vents on the ocean floor, where mineral-rich water and heat provided the energy necessary for chemical reactions to produce organic molecules.

3. RNA World Hypothesis: This hypothesis proposes that self-replicating RNA molecules were the precursors to life. RNA molecules are capable of both storing genetic information and catalyzing chemical reactions, suggesting they could have played a crucial role in early life forms.

4. Panspermia: Panspermia suggests that life on Earth originated from extraterrestrial sources, such as comets, asteroids, or interstellar dust, carrying organic molecules to our planet.

Abiogenesis likely occurred through a combination of these processes, driven by the chemical and environmental conditions present on early Earth. Ongoing research in fields such as biochemistry, molecular biology, and astrobiology continues to shed light on the origins of life.