The Intricacy of Origins

Understanding how life began is one of science’s biggest challenges. Even the simplest living cell is more complex than any machine ever built. And yet, on early Earth, life emerged from basic ingredients like rocks, water, and gases in the atmosphere.

This isn’t merely a chemistry problem. It spans biology, geology, physics, and more. It forces us to rethink core assumptions. For example, although all known life is carbon-based, carbon may not have been required for life to begin.

We’ve made progress. In labs, researchers have synthesized many of the molecules needed for life. But getting those molecules to behave like life—interacting, changing, and evolving—is more difficult. That’s where evolutionary biology comes in, helping scientists explore how lifeless chemicals may have taken the first steps toward life.

As Dr. Kaçar explains, scientists have become adept at creating life’s building blocks, but these components don’t yet exhibit behaviors we would call “alive.” To bridge the gap, she says, we must “put life into the origins of life” by applying lessons from evolution. That means studying not just molecules, but how they interact and adapt as living systems.