The first origin of life (abiogenesis)
This page delivers no verdict; it presents claims and evidence with their sources. No theory in science is absolute. Method
For everyone
How the first living thing arose from non-living matter is one of the biggest open questions in biology. Some building blocks of life have been produced in the laboratory, but no laboratory has produced a living cell from non-living matter. Proposed models include the "RNA world", deep-sea hydrothermal vents and life arriving from space (panspermia). Religions attribute life to God's creation.
For specialists
The Miller–Urey experiment (1953) produced amino acids by electric discharge in a reducing gas mixture; the early atmosphere was later thought to be less reducing. The RNA-world hypothesis (Gilbert 1986) rests on RNA's ability to be both an information carrier and a catalyst. Powner et al. (2009) synthesised activated pyrimidine nucleotides under prebiotically plausible conditions. Critics such as Shapiro find the spontaneous formation of long RNA chains highly improbable and favour "metabolism-first" models.
Views on dating
No single date is given because the date is not documented with certainty; the views of different sources are listed.
| Geology (Isua, Greenland; disputed) | 3.7-billion-year-old stromatolite-like structures were interpreted as signs of life; another team argued they are deformational rather than sedimentary in origin.[6][7] |
|---|---|
| Islam (Qur'an) | Every living thing was made from water (al-Anbiyāʾ 21:30); no date is given.[8] |
| Judaism and Christianity (Genesis) | Plants are created on the third day of creation, sea and land creatures on the fifth and sixth.[9] |
Claims
Evidence
Supporting
Amino acids formed when an electric discharge was applied to a mixture of methane, ammonia, hydrogen and water vapour.[1]
Activated pyrimidine ribonucleotides were synthesised from simple precursors without passing through free sugar and base stages.[3]
Challenging
It was argued that the spontaneous formation of long, self-replicating RNA chains under prebiotic conditions is extremely improbable.[4]
Connections
This topic is a stop on these journeys
Sources
- Article (1953). A production of amino acids under possible primitive Earth conditions. Science 117, 528–529DOI 10.1126/science.117.3046.528archive
- Article (1986). Origin of life: the RNA world. Nature 319, 618DOI 10.1038/319618a0archive
- Article (2009). Synthesis of activated pyrimidine ribonucleotides in prebiotically plausible conditions. Nature 459, 239–242DOI 10.1038/nature08013archive
- Article (2006). Small molecule interactions were central to the origin of life. The Quarterly Review of Biology 81(2), 105–125DOI 10.1086/506024archive
- Article (1973). Directed panspermia. Icarus 19(3), 341–346DOI 10.1016/0019-1035(73)90110-3archive
- Article (2016). Rapid emergence of life shown by discovery of 3,700-million-year-old microbial structures. Nature 537, 535–538DOI 10.1038/nature19355archive
- Article (2018). Reassessing evidence of life in 3,700-million-year-old rocks of Greenland. Nature 563, 241–244DOI 10.1038/s41586-018-0610-4archive
- ScriptureKur'an-ı Kerim, Enbiyâ 21:30quran.comarchive
- ScriptureTekvin / Genesis 1:11–25sefaria.orgarchive
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Cite this page
Athena contributors. (2026). The first origin of life (abiogenesis). Athena: The tree of human knowledge. Retrieved November 1, 2026, from https://latifkedi.github.io/athena/en/d/abiyogenez/
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title = {The first origin of life (abiogenesis)},
author = {{Athena contributors}},
year = {2026},
howpublished = {\url{https://latifkedi.github.io/athena/en/d/abiyogenez/}},
note = {Athena: The tree of human knowledge. Accessed: 2026-11-01}
}Added: September 27, 2026 · Last changed: September 27, 2026 · Page history