New Theories on the Origin of Life with Dr. Eric Smith

The McCloskey Speaker Series features Dr. Eric Smith, professor at the Earth-Life Science Institute in Tokyo and the Santa Fe Institute. For most of the 20th century, complex biological views of evolution have been central to the way scientists think about the origin of life. But progress over the past 40 years in such fields as ocean exploration, microbiology, and planetary science has come together to suggest that life's origin may have been built on a core chemical blueprint. Dr. Smith argues that we need a new understanding of the nature of life, in which the dominant, Darwinian view of a “struggle for existence” comes second, and life at its core came about as a necessary layer of our maturing planet.

Eric Smith began scientific work in high-energy physics, with Bachelor degrees in math and physics from Caltech, and a Ph.D. from the University of Texas in 1993. His work moved increasingly into topics in complex systems, during appointments in the University of Texas and the Los Alamos National Laboratories, culminating in eleven years spent at the Santa Fe Institute. At SFI he began parallel threads of work in non-equilibrium thermodynamics, economics and finance, and the history of human languages, and began studying the geochemistry, biochemistry, and evolution of the earliest life. He is currently a professor and Principle Investigator of the Earth-Life Science Institute in Tokyo, and external professor at SFI. His goal is to understand the origin and nature of the living state through the many windows that science provides on it: the physical, geochemical, biochemical, ecological, and evolutionary.

[victorjcano]

This fellow is one of the most articulate people I’ve ever listen to. He is so precise with both his thoughts and his words.

[myopenmind]

I could listen to Eric talk on this subject all day.
As someone who has studied Chemistry, Biology and Biochemistry I just think Eric deserves a bigger platform and and should be more widely accessible on the net.
Whoever put this talk together should be inviting him back for talk 2, Talk 3 and Talk 4 etc
I have a copy that f his book “the origin and nature of life on earth: the 4th geosphere”. It’s a heavy read but superbly done.

Nick lane is another scientist to watch on this subject and Robert M Hazen.

[alittleofeverything]

Love this dude. I have a biology degree and have been studying this stuff for years and this was so on point. Energetics, metabolism, emergent properties of geology, and the part about vent communities following the path of least resistance regarding the citric acid cycle was awesome. Some of those questions were painful. Some people just miss it in context, most likely because they don't have a proper basic understanding of the topic in the first place.

[robbie_]

I think this must be one of the most concise, clear and understandable lectures I've ever seen. Dr Smith seems to have a talent for communication. I wish he would write some books and maybe record some audiobooks.

[katiekat]

He is flawless when it comes to explaining things and giving his lecture. Clear voice with no “em” or “ah”s. No studdering or stamping. Perfect paces so you have a moment to think about and absorb what he is saying. But, also not to slow. It’s never boring. Very organized. Not once did I feel completely lost. What a great speaker! And his does a great jog of relying his information and point so you can understand and agree that what he is saying makes perfect sense. Bravo Eric Smith PhD.

[Knaeben]

That picture of the hematite at 17:05 was taken by me back in 2005. Lol I loaded it to Wikipedia but it disappeared from the article. I still have that very piece of hematite on my shelf. It's a small world, isn't it?

[tylermoore]

I have been reading in and around this topic for decades, but somehow missed this theory until now. I thank the youtube algorithm for sending this video my way. The idea of the entire planet being a giant battery that generates life is stunning and suddenly makes integrative sense of all the disparate phenomena of our planet, subduction, continental drift, constant renewal of the surface and so on and so on.

[chinvunloong]

Nick Lane on the origins of life is educational and incomparably Nick Lane

[seamus]

46:52 him tearing up talking about Santa Fe Institute was so damn heartwarming

[GaryKatch]

The most diplomatic dismissal of new age nonsense ("non-physical energies") I've ever heard at 51:03: "That's not a language I have the ability to use in any comfortable way..." 54:20 "energy is energy."

[DavidErdody]

This is the finest presentation on any science topic I have ever seen. Not only is it fascinating and clearly explained with just the right graphics and animations (and personal emotion) but never does he
Well done Eric!

[CreepAcademy]

I love the tactful way that Eric dismisses the woo-woo question about cosmic consciousness from someone in the audience with something like, "I love that you ask the question but I'm not really equipped to answer it".

[dorfmanjones]

I love how this thread fills up with holy rollers.

[spacelemur]

As a fan of Nick Lane's YouTube lectures, this talk fit like a glove.

[vezquex]

Here are my notes with time codes:


7:00 - Life in context of a planet in disequilibrium
7:20 - Geospheres: Earth comprises a lithosphere (rock), hydrosphere (ocean), atmosphere, and biosphere (life).
Connecting these concepts, Dr. Eric Smith outlines how the biosphere derives energy and building blocks.
14:00 - Ultraviolet radiation from the sun breaks water molecules, causing atmospheric escape of hydrogen, leaving a higher concentration of oxygen.
16:00 - The iron lithosphere rusts on the outside in contact with oxygen. This frees electrons, acting as a battery.
18:00 - Instead of rusting over and stopping, heat from the planet core forms currents in the mantle and breaks the crust to bring unoxidized iron to the surface.
23:45 - Hydrothermal vents form black smokers, hosting life fueled by the dissolved chemicals.
26:55 - Types of life, depending on source of energy (reductive vs. oxidative reactions), and ecosystem dependence
31:00 - Organisms and chemical reactions alike divide up contributions to ecosystemic metabolism.
32:30 - Citric acid cycle, a path of least resistance for energy
39:00 - Energy flow channels
41:20 - Citric acid cycle makes all of the initial components of the biosphere.
42:45 - Closing thoughts
47:10 - Questions

[KipIngram]

What a wonderfully calm and serene voice Dr. Smith has. Very easy to listen to.

[TimmyBlumberg]

This was a wonderful presentation that despite its highly technical nature is very accessible. Thank you for your clear and insightful communication.

[xaplax]

this guy is so brilliant it is staggering. his lecture at the santa fe institute is on the same topic but with different details. understanding the early origins of life requires a degree of multidisciplinary mastery that few people are capable of. i hope people realize what a pioneer this guy is as are the people that support this kind of research.

[allanlees]

This entire lecture seems to be a very convoluted way to say that basic thermodynamics, under certain conditions, favors self-organization by means of utilizing exogenous energy source(s) and if you leave that kind of system running for long enough with the right precursor molecules, you get (sometimes) life.

[glenliesegang]

Information, and complex information is the hurdle from mere metabolism to LUCA.
He explains the chemical energies which permit compound generation far from equilibrium. But the difference between cake ingredients and final product is where the input of information directing sequence is required.