Science Forums 2

[HydrogenBond]

I keep coming back to an energy balance because it defines what is possible and/or what is most likely. For example, making the first proteins is postulated using clays. The clay lowers the activation energy hill, so the reactions can move forward. Without the clays, the activation energy hill is much higher, even though both mechanisms end at the same final state in terms of a protein energy hill.

Even replicators can only move forward if there is sufficient energy to climb an energy hill. This can occur either with an external energy source or a catalytic mechanism that lowers the height of the activation energy hill. This sets a constraint of what is possible and/or what would need to happen.

If we compare a perfect genetic base pair, to one with a defect due to improper base pairing, the final states exist at two different energy levels, with the defect existing at slightly higher energy. It has potential energy. Genetic defects begin with potential energy. The goal then becomes how to lower this. The result should be predictable since only certain paths reach the bottom of the energy hill. There are also others paths, that lower the potential but these end up with extra potential. It is possible all will occur, but the data we collect millions of years later reflect movement to the bottom of the energy hill.
An example is exploding a mixture of H2 and O2, there may be a bunch of random radicals during the explosion, but lowest energy is defined as H2O. That is the goal of all the random diversity.