Biogeosciences
Biogeosciences
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Articles | Volume 12, issue 16
Articles | Volume 12, issue 16
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-12-4913-2015
© Author(s) 2015. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-12-4913-2015
© Author(s) 2015. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
Articles | Volume 12, issue 16
Research article
 | 
19 Aug 2015
Research article |  | 19 Aug 2015

Fundamental molecules of life are pigments which arose and co-evolved as a response to the thermodynamic imperative of dissipating the prevailing solar spectrum

K. Michaelian and A. Simeonov

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Short summary
We show that the fundamental molecules of life (those common to all three domains of life: Archaea, Bacteria, Eukaryota), including nucleotides, amino acids, enzyme cofactors, and porphyrin agglomerates, absorb light strongly from 230 to 280nm (in the UV-C) and have chemical affinity to RNA and DNA. This supports the "thermodynamic dissipation theory for the origin of life", which suggests that life arose and evolved as a response to dissipating the prevailing Archaean UV-C sunlight into heat.
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