Is there a common chemical model for life in the universe?

被引：204

作者：

Benner, SA ^{[1
]}

Ricardo, A ^{[1
]}

Carrigan, MA ^{[1
]}

机构：

[1] Univ Florida, Dept Chem, Gainesville, FL 32611 USA

来源：

CURRENT OPINION IN CHEMICAL BIOLOGY | 2004年 / 8卷 / 06期

基金：

美国国家科学基金会; 美国国家航空航天局;

关键词：

D O I：

10.1016/j.cbpa.2004.10.003

中图分类号：

Q5 [生物化学]; Q7 [分子生物学];

学科分类号：

071010 ; 081704 ;

摘要：

A review of organic chemistry suggests that life, a chemical system capable of Darwinian evolution, may exist in a wide range of environments. These include non-aqueous solvent systems at low temperatures, or even supercritical dihydrogen-helium mixtures. The only absolute requirements may be a thermodynamic disequilibrium and temperatures consistent with chemical bonding. A solvent system, availability of elements such as carbon, hydrogen, oxygen and nitrogen, certain thermodynamic features of metabolic pathways, and the opportunity for isolation, may also define habitable environments. If we constrain life to water, more specific criteria can be proposed, including soluble metabolites, genetic materials with repeating charges, and a well defined temperature range.

引用

页码：672 / 689

页数：18

共 127 条

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