Abiogenesis: Closer

[Minimalist]

While watching a back episode of Nova last night they discussed this fellow and his brilliant idea to mix organic chemicals in a different order.

http://www.dhushara.com/book/bchtm/suth/sutherland.htm

An English chemist has found the hidden gateway to the RNA world, the chemical milieu from which the first forms of life are thought to have emerged on earth some 3.8 billion years ago.

He has solved a problem that for 20 years has thwarted researchers trying to understand the origin of life - how the building blocks of RNA, called nucleotides, could have spontaneously assembled themselves in the conditions of the primitive earth. The discovery, if correct, should set researchers on the right track to solving many other mysteries about the origin of life. It will also mean that for the first time a plausible explanation exists for how an information-carrying biological molecule could have emerged through natural processes from chemicals on the primitive earth.

Who needs fucking god?

[Chad32]

This doesn't surprise me. The more we explore, the more we understand, and the fewer things we need to cram supernatural elements into in order to explain things. Bill Nye hit the nail on the head a long time ago: Science rules.

[SteelCurtain]

Cue the creatards attacking this scientist's character, rather than his method or results...

[Minimalist]

The more we explore, the more we understand,

Anathema to the sky-daddy enthusiasts!

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I found the episode on youtube. The segment in question begins at the 15:30 mark....although the rest of it was pretty good, too.