title: The continuity of bacterial and physicochemical evolution: theory and experiments.
abstract: The continuity of chemical and biological evolution, incorporating life's emergence, can be explored experimentally by energizing 'dead' bacterial biomacromolecules with nutrients under cycling physicochemical gradients. This approach arises from three evolutionary principles rooted in physical chemistry: (i) broken bacterial cells cannot spontaneously self-assemble into a living state without the supply of external energy - 2nd law of thermodynamics, (ii) the energy delivery must be cycling - the primary mechanism of chemical evolution at rotating planetary surfaces under solar irradiation, (iii) the cycling energy must act on chemical mixtures of high molecular diversity and crowding - provided by dead bacterial populations.
authors.affiliation: Mallard Creek Polymers, Inc., R&D Department, 14700 Mallard Creek Rd., Charlotte, NC 28262, USA. Electronic address: jspitz@mcpolymers.com.
authors.forename: Jan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Spitzer
mesh_terms: D001419:Bacteria / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics*; D018407:Bacterial Physiological Phenomena; D005075:Biological Evolution; D055598:Chemical Phenomena; D004734:Energy Metabolism
keywords: Bacterial; Emergence; Evolution; Physicochemical; Progenotes; Tree of life