Path: utzoo!censor!geac!jtsv16!uunet!samsung!usc!henry.jpl.nasa.gov!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!cit-vax!wen-king
From: wen-king@cit-vax.Caltech.Edu (King Su)
Newsgroups: sci.bio
Subject: Re: Creating life
Keywords: Life
Message-ID: <12500@cit-vax.Caltech.Edu>
Date: 4 Nov 89 05:29:22 GMT
References: <2461@umbc3.UMBC.EDU>
Reply-To: wen-king@cit-vax.UUCP (Wen-King Su)
Distribution: usa
Organization: California Institute of Technology
Lines: 14

I have a thought.  Rather than to try and synthesize existing life
forms, wouldn't it be simpler to synthesize life forms that might have
existed billions of years ago, when the ocean is just a pool of simple
chemicals?  Even the most simple, present-day virus is a challenge to
synthesize. Yet a viron is not really alive until it enters a host that
provides the viron additional components to allow it to reproduce.  If
life really came from a pool of chemicals, then there must be an early
form of life that is very simple in structure, and is capable of
reproducing itself without a lot of supporting components.  Maybe we can
make such a life form without too much trouble.
-- 
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| Wen-King Su  wen-king@vlsi.caltech.edu  Caltech Corp of Cosmic Engineers |
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