Atmospheres, Climate, Weather

The Origin Of Life And Cellular Systems: A Continuum From Prebiotic Chemistry To Biodiversity

By Keith Cowing
Life via PubMed
December 8, 2025
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The Origin Of Life And Cellular Systems: A Continuum From Prebiotic Chemistry To Biodiversity
From the prebiotic soup to the creation of biodiversity. The transition from a prebiotic soup to the emergence of the first living system—initiating the life process—is partially explained by the Assembled Worlds Hypothesis. According to this framework, once the first living system was formed, it gave rise to precursor cells that seeded biological diversity. These early cells (the PoB cells), upon interacting with their surrounding environment, generated the three living worlds (AW, PW, EW) that evolved into the first ecosystems. This perspective emphasizes the dynamic interplay between nascent life forms and their ecological context, suggesting that life did not arise in isolation but as part of an integrated system of biochemical and environmental interactions. — Life

The origin of life remains one of the most profound and enduring enigmas in the biological sciences. Despite substantial advances in prebiotic chemistry, fundamental uncertainties persist regarding the precise mechanisms that enabled the emergence of the first cellular entity and, subsequently, the foundational branches of the tree of life.

After examining the core principles that define living systems, we propose that life emerged as a novel property of a prebiotically assembled system—formed through the integration of distinct molecular worlds, defined as sets of structurally and functionally related molecular entities that interact via catalytic, autocatalytic, and/or self-assembly processes.

This emergence established a permanent system–process duality, wherein the system’s organization and its dynamic processes became inseparable. Upon acquiring the capacity to replicate and mutate its genetic program, this primordial organism initiated the evolutionary process, ultimately driving the diversification of life under the influence of evolutionary forces and leading to the formation of ecosystems.

The challenge of uncovering the origin of life and the emergence of biodiversity is not solely scientific, it requires the integration of empirical evidence, theoretical insight, and critical reflection. This work does not claim certainty but proposes a perspective on how life and biodiversity may have arisen on Earth. Ultimately, time and scientific inquiry will determine the validity of this view.

Astrobiology,

Keith Cowing

Explorers Club Fellow, ex-NASA Space Station Payload manager/space biologist, Away Teams, Journalist, Lapsed climber, Synaesthete, Na’Vi-Jedi-Freman-Buddhist-mix, ASL, Devon Island and Everest Base Camp veteran, (he/him) 🖖🏻

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