Seven Clues to the Origin of Life-A.G. Cairns-Smith
Science
Seven Clues to
the Origin of Life: A Scientific Detective Story
A.G.
Cairns-Smith
Darwin, in the final paragraph of
his iconic book 'On the Origin of Species' composed a few lines of ethereal
beauty. In a book that is not, otherwise acclaimed for its lyrical quality and
sublime prose, these words never fail to move me profoundly even after I have
read them innumerable times. He wrote:
'There
is grandeur in this view of life, with its several powers, having been
originally breathed into a few forms or into one; and that, whilst this
planet has gone cycling on according to the fixed law of gravity, from so
simple a beginning endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful have been,
and are being, evolved.' (Italics added)
With a stroke of genius and years of
study of the morphology, breeding habits and distribution of a vast number of
animal species, Darwin postulated his theory which explained the evolution of a
dizzyingly large number (more than a million) of varied species on earth. But
his starting point for this evolution was a living creature. He speaks of
‘powers having been originally breathed into a few forms or into one’. How did
this first living being acquire these special powers? The question of evolution
of species having been settled, what remained was this gaping lacuna in the
knowledge of origin of life on earth.
In this book Cairns-Smith attempts
to bridge this gap as he intelligently speculates how first life might have
been born on earth. He treats this question as a mystery and narrates his
string of explanations in the form of a Sherlock Holmes mystery being
unravelled step by step. Most chapters begin and end in a quote from Sherlock
Holmes. He meets the challenge head-on as he lucidly and convincingly explains
all his postulates, painstakingly building-up the case towards its climax. He
first defines the problem and then identifies the root issues which have to be
addressed in unravelling this mystery. These boil down to the explanation of
the origin of molecular basis of evolution, i.e., how did first means for
coding physical characteristics and then to preserve and pass them on to
subsequent generations, evolve. He explains the working of the simplest of
cellular organisms, E. Coli, to introduce reader to the enormous complexity of
life on earth. He investigates the common scientific belief that life could not
have originated without the 'molecules of life' i.e., nucleotides. Have we been
led up a garden path all these years? He does some deft out-of-box thinking as
he postulates that life in whatever form it existed in the beginning-and this
would have been vastly and completely different from even the simplest of the
organisms living presently-could only have evolved from inorganic matter
available on earth at that time.
I do not want to reveal more of this most
fascinating mystery tale. Those interested must read the book themselves and
relish the forceful scientific logic and most ingenious conclusions drawn. Book
is masterly written in a markedly succinct style, author never losing sight of
the kernel question. Cairns-smith has offered a highly satisfactory explanation
as to the origin of life on earth. He has shown that perseverance in tackling
most intricate and seemingly insuperable questions of our existence can show us
a path of reason. It is once again amply clear through this work that
expostulation of a 'creator' to explain all gaps in our knowledge is only an
excuse of an indolent mind.
A must, must read for every soul thirsting
for the knowledge of our origins.
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