Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-8bhkd Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-19T17:31:07.532Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

From systems chemistry to systems astrobiology: life in the universe as an emergent phenomenon

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 July 2012

J. Chela-Flores
J. Chela-Flores*
Affiliation:
The Abdus Salam ICTP, Strada Costiera 11, 34151 Trieste, Italia and Instituto de Estudios Avanzados, IDEA, Caracas 1015A, República Bolivariana de Venezuela e-mail: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Although astrobiology is a science midway between the life and physical sciences, it has surprisingly remained largely disconnected from recent trends in certain branches of both life and physical sciences. We discuss potential applications to astrobiology of approaches that aim at integrating rather than reducing. Aiming at discovering how systems properties emerge has proved valuable in chemistry and in biology. The systems approach should also yield insights into astrobiology, especially concerning the ongoing search for alternative abodes for life. This is feasible since new data banks in the case of astrobiology – considered as a branch of biology – are of a geophysical/astronomical kind, rather than the molecular biology data that are used for questions related firstly, to genetics in a systems context and secondly, to biochemistry for solving fundamental problems, such as protein or proteome folding. By focusing on how systems properties emerge in astrobiology we consider the question: can life in the universe be interpreted as an emergent phenomenon? In the search for potential habitable worlds in our galactic sector with current space missions, extensive data banks of geophysical parameters of exoplanets are rapidly emerging. We suggest that it is timely to consider life in the universe as an emergent phenomenon that can be approached with methods beyond the science of chemical evolution – the backbone of previous research in questions related to the origin of life. The application of systems biology to incorporate the emergence of life in the universe is illustrated with a diagram for the familiar case of our own planetary system, where three Earth-like planets are within the habitable zone (HZ) of a G2 V (the complete terminology for the Sun in the Morgan–Keenan system) star. We underline the advantage of plotting the age of Earth-like planets against large atmospheric fraction of a biogenic gas, whenever such anomalous atmospheres are discovered in these worlds. A prediction is made as to the nature of the atmospheres of the planets that lie in the stellar HZs.

Keywords

Astrobiologysystems biologyfitness of the environment for the evolution of lifeexploration of the solar systemCoROT MissionKepler MissionKepler-22bHubble Space Telescopeuniversal Darwinismevolutionary convergence
Type
Research Article
Information
International Journal of Astrobiology , Volume 12 , Issue 1 , January 2013 , pp. 8 - 16
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2012

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Anderson, P.W. (1972). More is different: broken symmetry and nature of hierarchical structure of science. Science 177, 393–396.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Auvergne, M. et al. (2009). The CoRoT satellite in flight: description and performances. Astron. Astrophys. 506, 411–424.Google Scholar
Borucki, W.J. et al. (2011) Characteristics of planetary candidates observed by Kepler, II: analysis of the first four months of data. Astrophys. J. 736(1). doi: 10.1088/0004-637X/736/1/19CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Borucki, W.J. et al. (2012). Kepler-22b: a 2.4 Earth-radius planet in the habitable zone of a Sun-like star. Astrophys. J. 745, 120–136.Google Scholar
Brocks, J.J., Logan, G.A. & Summons, R.E. (1999). Archean molecular fossils and the early rise of eukaryotes. Science 285, 1033–1036.Google Scholar
Buchanan, M., Caldarelli, G., de los Rios, P., Rao, F. & Vendruscolo, M. (eds) (2010). Networks in Cell Biology, p. 271. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.Google Scholar
Chela-Flores, J. (2007). Testing the universality of biology. Int. J. Astrobiol. 6(3), 241–248 (© Cambridge University Press). http://www.ictp.it/∼chelaf/universality.pdfGoogle Scholar
Chela-Flores, J. (2008). Fitness of the cosmos for the origin and evolution of life: from biochemical fine-tuning to the anthropic principle. In Fitness of the Cosmos for Life: Biochemistry and Fine-Tuning, ed. Barrow, J.D., Morris, S.C., Freeland, S.J. & Harper, C.L., pp. 151–166. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. http://www.ictp.it/∼chelaf/ss154.htmlGoogle Scholar
Chela-Flores, J. & Kumar, N. (2008). Returning to Europa: can traces of surficial life be detected? Int. J. Astrobiol., 7(3), 263–269. (Copyright holder: Cambridge University Press).Google Scholar
Chela-Flores, J. (2010). Instrumentation for the search of habitable ecosystems in the future exploration of Europa and Ganymede. Int. J. Astrobiol. 9, 101–108 (© Cambridge University Press). http://www.ictp.it/∼chelaf/jcfSeamless.pdfGoogle Scholar
Chela-Flores, J. (2011a). The Science of Astrobiology: A Personal Point of View on Learning to Read the Book of Life, 2nd edn (Book Series: Cellular Origin, Life in Extreme Habitats and Astrobiology), ch. 10, p. 360. Springer, Dordrecht, The Netherlands.Google Scholar
Chela-Flores, J. (2011b). The Science of Astrobiology a Personal Point of View on Learning to Read the Book of Life, 2nd edn (Book Series: Cellular Origin, Life in Extreme Habitats and Astrobiology), ch. 1, p. 360. Springer, Dordrecht, The Netherlands. http://www.ictp.it/∼chelaf/ss220.htmlCrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chela-Flores, J. (2012). A case for landing on the moon's farside to test nitrogen abundances. Int. J. Astrobiol., 11, 61–69 (© Cambridge University Press 2011). http://www.ictp.it/∼chelaf/ija2011TG.pdfGoogle Scholar
Chela-Flores, J. & Kumar, N. (2008). Returning to Europa: can traces of surficial life be detected? Int. J. Astrobiol. 7, 263–269. http://www.ictp.it/∼chelaf/JCFKumar.pdfGoogle Scholar
Chela-Flores, J. & Raulin, F. (eds.) (1996). Chemical Evolution: Physics of the Origin and Evolution of Life (The Cyril Ponnamperuma Memorial Conference). Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht, The Netherlands.Google Scholar
Chela-Flores, J., Owen, T. & Raulin, F. (2001). The First Steps of Life in the Universe, Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht, The Netherlands.Google Scholar
Conway-Morris, S. (1998). The Crucible of Creation, Oxford University Press, Cambridge.Google Scholar
Conway-Morris, S. (2003). Life's Solution Inevitable Humans in a Lonely Universe, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.Google Scholar
Cosmovici, C.B., Pluchino, S., Salerno, E., Montebugnoli, S., Zoni, L. & Bartolini, M. (2008). Radio search for water in exo-planetary systems. ASPC 398, 33–35.Google Scholar
Darling, D. (2001). Life Everywhere: the Maverick Science of Astrobiology, p. 166. Basic Books, New York.Google Scholar
Dawkins, R. (1983). Universal Darwinism. In Evolution from Molecules to Men, ed. Bendall, D.S., pp. 403–425. Cambridge University Press, London.Google Scholar
De Duve, C. (1995). Vital Dust: Life as a Cosmic Imperative, Basic Books, New York.Google Scholar
De Duve, C. (2002). Life Evolving Molecules Mind and Meaning, Oxford University Press, New York.Google Scholar
De Duve, C. (2005). Singularities Landmarks on the Pathway of Life, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dobson, C.M. (2003) Protein folding and misfolding. Nature 426, 884–890.Google Scholar
Erwin, D.H. (2003). The Goldilocks hypothesis. Science 302, 1682–1683.Google Scholar
Fischer, T.P., Hilton, D.R., Zimmer, M.M., Shaw, A.M., Sharp, Z.D. & Walker, J.A. (2002). Subduction and recycling of nitrogen along the Central American margin. Science 297, 1154–1157.Google Scholar
Fontana, W. & Buss, L.W. (1994). What would be conserved if ‘the tapes were played twice’? Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 91, 757–761.Google Scholar
Foote, M. (1998). Contingency and convergence. Science 280, 2068–2069.Google Scholar
Formisano, V., Atreya, S., Encrenaz, T., Ignatiev, N. & Giuranna, M. (2004). Detection of methane in the atmosphere of Mars. Science 306, 1758–1761.Google Scholar
Friedlung, M. et al. (2010). A roadmap for the detection and characterization of other Earths. Astrobiology 10, 113–119 (http://oro.open.ac.uk/25562/1/).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Frydman, J. (2001). Folding of newly translated proteins in vivo: the role of molecular chaperones. Annu. Rev. Biochem. 70, 603–647.Google Scholar
Gould, S.J. (1989). Wonderful Life: the Burgess Shale and the Nature of History, W. W. Norton and Company, New York.Google Scholar
Hartl, F.U., Bracher, A. & Hayer-Hartl, M. (2011). Molecular chaperones in protein folding and proteostasis. Nature 475, 324–332.Google Scholar
Henderson, L.J. (1913). The Fitness of the Environment an Enquiry into the Biological Significance of the Properties of Matter, p. 312. Peter Smith, Gloucester, MA.Google Scholar
Hoppe, P., Strebel, R., Eberhadt, P., Amari, S. & Lewis, R.S. (1997). Type II supernova matter in a silicon carbide grain from the Murchison meteorite. Science 272, 1314–17.Google Scholar
Kasting, J.F. (1982). Stability of ammonia in the primitive terrestrial atmosphere. J. Geophys. Res. 87, 3091–3098.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kerr, R.A. (2002). Winking star unveils planetary birthplace. Science 296, 2312–13.Google Scholar
Kiang, N.Y. (2008). The color of plants on other worlds. Sci. Am. 298, 48–55.Google Scholar
Kiang, N.Y., Segura, A., Tinetti, G., Govindjee, Blankenship, R.E., Cohen, M., Siefert, J., Crisp, D. & Meadows, V.S. (2007). Spectral signatures of photosynthesis II: coevolution with other stars and the atmosphere on extrasolar Worlds. Astrobiology 7, 252–274.Google Scholar
Kipping, D. (2009). Transit timing effects due to an exomoon. Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc. 392, 181.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Knoll, A.H. (1995). Life story. Nature 375, 201–202.Google Scholar
Kuhn, W.R. & Atreya, S.K. (1979). Ammonia photolysis and the greenhouse effect in the primordial atmosphere of the Earth. Icarus 37, 207–213.Google Scholar
Kump, L.R. (2008). The rise of atmospheric oxygen. Nature 451, 277–278.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Mandell, M., Deming, D., Blake, G., Knutson, H.A., Mumma, M.J., Villanueva, G.L. &. Salyk, C. (2011). Non-detection of L-band line emission from the exoplanet HD189733b. Astrophys. J. 728, 18.Google Scholar
Mather, T.A., Pyle, D.M. & Allen, A.G. (2004). Volcanic source for fixed nitrogen in the early Earth's atmosphere. Geology 32, 905–908.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mayor, M., Udry, S., Lovis, C., Pepe, F., Queloz, D., Benz, W., Bertaux, J.-L., Bouchy, F., Mordasini, C., and Segransan, D. (2009). The HARPS search for southern extra-solar planets. XIII. A planetary system with 3 Super-Earths (4.2, 6.9, and 9.2 M⊕). Astron. Astrophys. 493, 639–644.Google Scholar
Miyazaki, A., Hiyagon, H., Sugiura, N., Hirose, K. & Takahashi, E. (2004). Solubilities of nitrogen and noble gases in silicate melts under various oxygen fugacities: implications for the origin and degassing history of nitrogen and noble gases in the Earth. Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 68, 387–401.Google Scholar
Monod, J. (1971). Chance and Necessity: an Essay on the Natural Philosophy of Modern Biology, Alfred A. Knopf, New York.Google Scholar
Pace, N.R. (2001). The universal nature of biochemistry. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 98, 805–808.Google Scholar
Pepe, F., Lovis, C., Ségransan, D., Benz, W., Bouchy, F., Dumusque, X., Mayor, M., Queloz, D., Santos, N. C. & Udry, S. (2011). The HARPS search for Earth-like planets in the habitable zone: I – very low-mass planets around HD20794, HD85512 and HD192310. Astron. Astrophys. 534, A58.Google Scholar
Ponnamperuma, C. and Chela-Flores, J. (eds.) (1995). Chemical Evolution: the Structure and Model of the First Cell, Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht, The Netherlands. [Also: Ponnamperuma, C. & Chela-Flores, J. (Guest eds.) (1994). Journal of Biological Physics 120, Numbers 1–4].Google Scholar
Rollinson, H.R. (2007). Early Earth Systems: a Geochemical Approach, Ch. 5, pp. 184–186.Google Scholar
Sauer, U., Heinemann, M. & Zamboni, N. (2007). Genetics: getting closer to the whole picture. Science 316, 550–551.Google Scholar
Seager, S. & Deming, D. (2010). Exoplanet atmospheres. Annu. Rev. Astron. Astrophys. 48, 631–672.Google Scholar
Schneider, G. et al. (1999). NICMOS imaging of the HR 4796A circumstellar disk. Astrophys. J. 513, L1217–30.Google Scholar
Schneider, J. et al. The SEE-COAST TEAM. (2009). The super earth explorer: a coronagraphic off-axis space telescope. Exp. Astron. 23, 357–377.Google Scholar
Schneider, J. et al. (2010). The search for worlds like our own. Astrobiology 10, 5–17.Google Scholar
Stoker, C.R. et al. (2010). Habitability of the Phoenix landing site. J. Geophys. Res. 115, E00E20 (doi:10.1029/2009JE003421).Google Scholar
Swain, M.R. (2010). Finesse – a new mission concept for exoplanet spectroscopy. Bull. Am. Astron. Soc.. 42, 1064.Google Scholar
Swain, M.R., Vasisht, G. & Tinetti, G. (2008). The presence of methane in the atmosphere of an extrasolar planet. Nature 452, 329–331.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Szathmary, E. (2002). The gospel of inevitability. Was the universe destined to lead to the evolution of humans? Nature 419, 779–780.Google Scholar
Szostak, J.W. (2009). Origins of life: systems chemistry on early Earth. Nature 459, 171–172.Google Scholar
Tinetti, G. et al. (2007). Water vapour in the atmosphere of a transiting extrasolar planet. Nature 448, 169–171.Google Scholar
Vendruscolo, M., Knowles, T.P.J. & Dobson, C.M. (2011). Protein solubility and protein homeostasis: a generic view of protein misfolding disorders. Cold Spring Harb. Perspect. Biol. 3, a010454.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wolstencroft, R.D. & Raven, J.A. (2002). Photosynthesis: likelihood of occurrence and possibility of detection on earth-like planets. Icarus 157, 535–548.Google Scholar
Wolynes, P.G., Onuchic, J.N. & Thirumalai, D. (1995). Navigating the folding routes. Science 267, 1619–1620.Google Scholar
Zhang, Y. & Zindler, A. (1993). Distribution and evolution of carbon and nitrogen in the Earth. Earth Planet. Sci. 117, 331–345.Google Scholar