Graham Cairns-Smith: Difference between revisions
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{{Short description|Scottish chemist (1931-2016)}} |
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{{Infobox scientist |
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| ⚫ | '''Alexander Graham Cairns-Smith''' [[FRSE]] (24 November 1931 – 26 August 2016) was an [[organic chemist]] and [[molecular biologist]] at the [[University of Glasgow]].<ref>{{ |
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| birth_date = {{birth date |1931|11|24|df=yes}} |
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| death_date = {{death date and age |2016|8|26 |1931|11|24|df=yes}} |
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| workplaces = [[University of Glasgow]] |
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| education = [[University of Edinburgh]] (PhD) |
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| ⚫ | '''Alexander Graham Cairns-Smith''' [[FRSE]] (24 November 1931 – 26 August 2016) was an [[organic chemist]] and [[molecular biologist]] at the [[University of Glasgow]].<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Vws5AAAAIAAJ&q=Alexander+Graham+Cairns-Smith+1931 |title=Who's who of British Scientists |year=1971 |isbn=9780582114647}}</ref> He studied at the [[University of Edinburgh]], where he gained a Ph.D. in Chemistry (1957).<ref>{{cite journal |last=Cairns Smith |first=A. G. |date=1957 |title=Studies in the acridine series |url=https://era.ed.ac.uk/handle/1842/29033 }}</ref> He was most famous for his controversial 1985 book ''Seven Clues to the Origin of Life''. |
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The book popularized a hypothesis he began to develop in the mid-1960s—that self-replication of [[clay]] crystals in solution might provide a simple intermediate step between biologically inert matter and [[organic life]]. He inspired other ideas about [[Abiogenesis|chemical evolution]], including the [[Miller–Urey experiment]] and the [[RNA World]], all of which are hypotheses that have played important roles in attempts to understand the [[origin of life]]. |
The book popularized a hypothesis he began to develop in the mid-1960s—that self-replication of [[clay]] crystals in solution might provide a simple intermediate step between biologically inert matter and [[organic life]]. He inspired other ideas about [[Abiogenesis|chemical evolution]], including the [[Miller–Urey experiment]] and the [[RNA World]], all of which are hypotheses that have played important roles in attempts to understand the [[origin of life]]. |
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Cairns-Smith also published on the [[evolution]] of [[consciousness]], in ''Evolving the Mind'' (1996), favoring a role for [[quantum mechanics]] in human [[thought]].<ref>{{cite journal | last=Dennett | first=Daniel | url=http://cogprints.org/289/ | title=Quantum Incoherence: Review of Cairns-Smith, ''Evolving the Mind'' | journal=[[Nature (journal)|Nature]] | volume=381 | year=1996 | pages=486 |bibcode = 1996Natur.381..486T |doi = 10.1038/381486a0 | s2cid=39799295 | doi-access=free }}</ref> He died on 26 August 2016.<ref> |
Cairns-Smith also published on the [[evolution]] of [[consciousness]], in ''Evolving the Mind'' (1996), favoring a role for [[quantum mechanics]] in human [[thought]].<ref>{{cite journal | last=Dennett | first=Daniel | url=http://cogprints.org/289/ | title=Quantum Incoherence: Review of Cairns-Smith, ''Evolving the Mind'' | journal=[[Nature (journal)|Nature]] | volume=381 | year=1996 | issue=6582 | pages=486 |bibcode = 1996Natur.381..486T |doi = 10.1038/381486a0 | s2cid=39799295 | doi-access=free }}</ref> He died on 26 August 2016.<ref>{{cite web |title=Cairns-Smith |url=http://announcements.telegraph.co.uk/deaths/206038/cairns-smith |website=Telegraph.co.uk |access-date=1 January 2022}}</ref> |
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==Clay hypothesis<!-- Links to this section on: History of Earth-->== |
==Clay hypothesis<!-- Links to this section on: History of Earth-->== |
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The '''clay hypothesis''' suggests how biologically inert matter helped the evolution of early life forms: [[clay mineral]]s form naturally from [[Silicate minerals|silicates]] in solution. Clay crystals, as other [[crystals]], preserve their external formal arrangement as they grow, snap,{{clarify|date=July 2019}} and grow further. Clay crystal masses of a particular external form may happen to affect their [[natural environment|environment]] in ways that affect their chances of further replication. For example, a "stickier" clay crystal is more likely to [[silt]] a stream bed, creating an environment conducive to further [[sedimentation]]. It is conceivable that such effects could extend to the creation of flat areas likely to be exposed to air, dry, and turn to wind-borne dust, which could fall randomly in other streams. Thus—by simple, inorganic, physical processes—a selection environment might exist for the reproduction of clay crystals of the "stickier" shape. |
The '''clay hypothesis''' suggests how biologically inert matter helped the evolution of early life forms: [[clay mineral]]s form naturally from [[Silicate minerals|silicates]] in solution. Clay crystals, as other [[crystals]], preserve their external formal arrangement as they grow, snap,{{clarify|date=July 2019}} and grow further. Clay crystal masses of a particular external form may happen to affect their [[natural environment|environment]] in ways that affect their chances of further replication. For example, a "stickier" clay crystal is more likely to [[silt]] a stream bed, creating an environment conducive to further [[sedimentation]]. It is conceivable that such effects could extend to the creation of flat areas likely to be exposed to air, dry, and turn to wind-borne dust, which could fall randomly in other streams. Thus—by simple, inorganic, physical processes—a selection environment might exist for the reproduction of clay crystals of the "stickier" shape.<ref>{{cite book |last=Dawkins |first=Richard |author-link=Richard Dawkins |title=The Blind Watchmaker: why the evidence of evolution reveals a universe without design |year=2015 |publisher=W. W. Norton & Company |isbn=978-0393351491 |page=156}}</ref> |
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There follows a process of natural selection for clay crystals that trap certain forms of [[molecules]] to their surfaces that may enhance their replication potential. Complex proto-organic molecules can be [[Catalysis|catalysed]] by the surface properties of [[Silicate minerals|silicates]]. When complex molecules perform a "genetic takeover" from their clay "vehicle", they become an independent locus of replication – an evolutionary moment that might be understood as the first [[exaptation]]. |
There follows a process of natural selection for clay crystals that trap certain forms of [[molecules]] to their surfaces that may enhance their replication potential. Complex proto-organic molecules can be [[Catalysis|catalysed]] by the surface properties of [[Silicate minerals|silicates]]. When complex molecules perform a "genetic takeover" from their clay "vehicle", they become an independent locus of replication – an evolutionary moment that might be understood as the first [[exaptation]]. |
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==Selected publications== |
==Selected publications== |
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* {{citation |
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* {{citation | last=Cairns-Smith | first=Alexander Graham | chapter=An approach to a blueprint for a primitive organism |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fMJwt2rr80MC&q=%22Cairns-Smith%22&pg=PA1 | editor-last=Waddington | editor-first=C. H. | title=The Origin of Life: Towards a Theoretical Biology | pages=57–66 | isbn=978-0-202-36302-8 | year=2009 | publisher=Aldine Transaction | volume=1 |ref=none }} Reissue of {{citation | editor-last=Waddington | editor-first=C. H. | title=Towards a Theoretical Biology: Prolegomena | volume=1 | year=1968 | publisher=Edinburgh University Press | isbn=978-0852240182 |ref=none }} |
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| last=Cairns-Smith |
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* {{citation | last=Cairns-Smith | first=Alexander Graham | title=Genetic Takeover and the Mineral Origins of Life | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mnBqQgAACAAJ | year=1987 | isbn=9780521346825 | publisher=CambridgeUP |ref=none }} (Paperback reprint of 1982 edition) |
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| first=Alexander Graham |
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* {{citation | last=Cairns-Smith | first=Alexander Graham | title=Seven Clues to the Origin of Life | url=https://archive.org/details/sevencluestoorig00agca | isbn=9780521398282 | publisher=Cambridge University Press | year=1990 | url-access=registration |ref=none }} (Canto reprint of the original 1986 edition) |
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| chapter=An approach to a blueprint for a primitive organism |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fMJwt2rr80MC&q=%22Cairns-Smith%22&pg=PA1 |
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| ⚫ | |||
| editor-last=Waddington |
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| editor-first=C. H. |
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| title=The Origin of Life: Towards a Theoretical Biology |
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| pages=57–66 |
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| isbn=978-0-202-36302-8 |
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| year=2009 |
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| publisher=Aldine Transaction |
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| volume=1}}. Note: This is a reissue of {{citation | editor-last=Waddington | editor-first=C. H. | title=Towards a Theoretical Biology: Prolegomena | volume=1 | year=1968 | publisher=Edinburgh University Press | isbn=978-0852240182}}. |
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* {{citation |
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| last=Cairns-Smith |
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| first=Alexander Graham |
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| title=Genetic Takeover and the Mineral Origins of Life |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mnBqQgAACAAJ |
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| year=1987 |
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| isbn=9780521346825 |
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| publisher=CambridgeUP}} (Paperback reprint of original 1982 edition.) |
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* {{citation |
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| last=Cairns-Smith |
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| first=Alexander Graham |
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| ⚫ | |||
| url=https://archive.org/details/sevencluestoorig00agca |
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| isbn=9780521398282 |
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| publisher=CambridgeUP |
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| year=1990 |
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| url-access=registration |
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}} (Canto reprint of the original 1986 edition) |
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* {{citation |
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| last=Cairns-Smith |
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| first=Alexander Graham |
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| ⚫ | |||
| year=1996 |
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| publisher=CambridgeUP |
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| isbn=0-521-40220-4}} |
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==See also== |
==See also== |
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Latest revision as of 18:14, 17 November 2024
Graham Cairns-Smith FRSE | |
|---|---|
| Born | 24 November 1931 |
| Died | 26 August 2016 (aged 84) |
| Education | University of Edinburgh (PhD) |
| Known for | Seven Clues to the Origin of Life |
| Scientific career | |
| Institutions | University of Glasgow |
Alexander Graham Cairns-Smith FRSE (24 November 1931 – 26 August 2016) was an organic chemist and molecular biologist at the University of Glasgow.[1] He studied at the University of Edinburgh, where he gained a Ph.D. in Chemistry (1957).[2] He was most famous for his controversial 1985 book Seven Clues to the Origin of Life.
The book popularized a hypothesis he began to develop in the mid-1960s—that self-replication of clay crystals in solution might provide a simple intermediate step between biologically inert matter and organic life. He inspired other ideas about chemical evolution, including the Miller–Urey experiment and the RNA World, all of which are hypotheses that have played important roles in attempts to understand the origin of life.
Cairns-Smith also published on the evolution of consciousness, in Evolving the Mind (1996), favoring a role for quantum mechanics in human thought.[3] He died on 26 August 2016.[4]
Clay hypothesis
[edit]The clay hypothesis suggests how biologically inert matter helped the evolution of early life forms: clay minerals form naturally from silicates in solution. Clay crystals, as other crystals, preserve their external formal arrangement as they grow, snap,[clarification needed] and grow further. Clay crystal masses of a particular external form may happen to affect their environment in ways that affect their chances of further replication. For example, a "stickier" clay crystal is more likely to silt a stream bed, creating an environment conducive to further sedimentation. It is conceivable that such effects could extend to the creation of flat areas likely to be exposed to air, dry, and turn to wind-borne dust, which could fall randomly in other streams. Thus—by simple, inorganic, physical processes—a selection environment might exist for the reproduction of clay crystals of the "stickier" shape.[5]
There follows a process of natural selection for clay crystals that trap certain forms of molecules to their surfaces that may enhance their replication potential. Complex proto-organic molecules can be catalysed by the surface properties of silicates. When complex molecules perform a "genetic takeover" from their clay "vehicle", they become an independent locus of replication – an evolutionary moment that might be understood as the first exaptation.
Selected publications
[edit]- Cairns-Smith, Alexander Graham (2009), "An approach to a blueprint for a primitive organism", in Waddington, C. H. (ed.), The Origin of Life: Towards a Theoretical Biology, vol. 1, Aldine Transaction, pp. 57–66, ISBN 978-0-202-36302-8 Reissue of Waddington, C. H., ed. (1968), Towards a Theoretical Biology: Prolegomena, vol. 1, Edinburgh University Press, ISBN 978-0852240182
- Cairns-Smith, Alexander Graham (1987), Genetic Takeover and the Mineral Origins of Life, CambridgeUP, ISBN 9780521346825 (Paperback reprint of 1982 edition)
- Cairns-Smith, Alexander Graham (1990), Seven Clues to the Origin of Life, Cambridge University Press, ISBN 9780521398282 (Canto reprint of the original 1986 edition)
- Cairns-Smith, Alexander Graham (1996), Evolving the Mind: On the Nature of Matter and the Origin of Consciousness, Cambridge University Press, ISBN 0-521-40220-4
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ Who's who of British Scientists. 1971. ISBN 9780582114647.
- ^ Cairns Smith, A. G. (1957). "Studies in the acridine series".
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help) - ^ Dennett, Daniel (1996). "Quantum Incoherence: Review of Cairns-Smith, Evolving the Mind". Nature. 381 (6582): 486. Bibcode:1996Natur.381..486T. doi:10.1038/381486a0. S2CID 39799295.
- ^ "Cairns-Smith". Telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 1 January 2022.
- ^ Dawkins, Richard (2015). The Blind Watchmaker: why the evidence of evolution reveals a universe without design. W. W. Norton & Company. p. 156. ISBN 978-0393351491.
