Organic & Inorganic Molecules
Of course, many people focus on the organic molecules when people focus on life. There are four major types of organic molecules. Those are the carbohydrates, the proteins, the lipids and the nucleic acids. Carbohydrates are energy-rich, are part of cell respiration, they have a structure role in the cellulose/cell walls of plants and they serve as building blocks in the form of carbohydrate polysaccharides (which are themselves composed of simple sugars. Proteins are the enzymes, are also structural, are carrier molecules and so forth. Examples would be hemoglobin, protein channels and they are parts of cell membranes. The lipids are the fatty acids and glycerol. They are also part of the cell membrane structure. They can also be omega-3 fatty acids. They serve as building blocks in the form of fatty acids and glycerol. Finally, there are the nucleic acids. These include DNA and RNA, they contain genetic information, they are part of the cell reproduction process, are part of protein production and their building blocks are nucleotides.
However, the inorganic molecules, while not "organic," are just as important. These include water, oxygen, carbon dioxide, nitrogen and minerals. Water is the site of chemical reactions. Oxygen, like carbohydrates, is involved in cellular respiration. Carbon dioxide is involved with photosynthesis in plants. Nitrogen is involved with protein and nucleic acids. Finally, minerals are involved in enzyme ultra-structure. Of course, even if the latter four described in this post are inorganic, they are very important. We need both water and oxygen to survive as humans, carbon dioxide is necessary for plants and much of our atmosphere is made of up nitrogen. Minerals are used by the human body and for other purposes as well.
A chart of all of the molecules listed above, including which class each of htem is in, is listed below:
http://iqa.evergreenps.org/science/biology/molecules_life.htm
("SETI Institute," 2007) So the future holds bright to understanding more about life on Mars. References Berger, Brian. (2005, Feb) "Exclusive: NASA Researchers Claim Evidence of Present Life on Mars" Retrieved 12 December, 2007 from: http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/mars_life_050216.html Dasch, Pat; Treiman, Allan. (2007) "Ancient Life on Mars" Lunar and Planetary Institute. Retrieved 12 December, 2007 from: http://www.lpi.usra.edu/publications/slidesets/marslife/ Davidson, Jim. (1996, Dec) "Life on Mars: You Call This Life?" Retrieved 12 December, 2007 from http://www.houstonspacesociety.org/life.html Hamilton, Calvin. J.
Noncoding DNA, also known as "junk DNA" describes portions of the DNA sequence that do not appear to have any presentable use -- they do not encode for proteins, etc. In fact, in a most eukaryote cells, a rather large percentage of the total genome is noncoding DNA, but this varies between species. However, it is now a misnomer to call this material "junk," because the more sophisticated we become
life form found on Mars would be like. Mars is the fourth planet from the sun, while Earth is the third, so the planets are relatively close neighbors. However, the environments on these two planets are extremely diverse. Earth is a planet where life has evolved, while Mars is a barren planet devoid of life. However, if life could survive there, it would be extremely different from what we
As we have seen, according to this theory, life has developed independently from Earth elements and was only determined by comet conditions. As such, it is not at all out of place and irrational to suggest that this is something that may happen on other planets as well. Comets bombarding other planets may seed life much the same way it is believed they have on Earth four billion years
Origin of Life on Earth At present, scientists are still in search of the answer to how life originated on Earth. Until now, they are continuously studying several kinds of facts and are carrying on with their research. At the moment, there are 3 competing theories on the origin of life on Earth i.e. The Panspermia Theory, The Heterotrophic Theory and the Autotrophic Theory. The Panspermia Theory The Panspermia Theory was proposed
A more controversial theory regarding the origins of life is that it began deep under the ocean near thermal vents. These vents, first discovered in 1979, release extremely hot gases from below the Earth's crust into water that is near freezing (Duke). The mixture of the gas and the temperatures creates a gradient around the vents that is ideal for the formation of organic molecules. There is a flourishing ecosystem
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