Ask A Scientist General Science Archive

Question:  How did the very first life forms develop on Earth?
 snydera

Answer:
We really don't know. There are a number of theories:
1) creationism: God created the earth with all life already intact
as opposed to
2) evolution: life evolved from very simple single-celled plants
and animals
But how did those simple single-celled plants and animals come about?
3) one of the first theories was lightening striking pools containing
organic chemicals: scientists demonstrated in the laboratory that
this process could produce amino acids which are "the building blocks
of life"
4) more recently scientists at NASA Ames Research Center have shown
that amino acids are formed by surface catalysis on certain clays
5) it has also been suggested that RNA may have been brought to the
earth by a meteorite or comet.
 
--- jade