A new study argues that the view of human emergence through several sequential and unlikely events is fundamentally wrong. This means that complex life in space is not only much more common than previously thought, but also that it may be similar to us.
Hard steps
On February 14, a study conducted by a team of experts from different fields of science was published in the journal Science Advances. They analyzed the course of evolution on Earth and concluded that the ideas about its uniqueness were wrong.
We are talking about the “hard steps” theory that has dominated astrobiology for the last few decades. Its essence comes down to the fact that in their development from the first RNA to man, living beings had to pass through several key moments during which they improved: the formation of the biological cell, oxygen respiration, and entry onto land.
The “hard steps” theory argues that each required conditions and efforts that were themselves unlikely. Which means that the emergence of human civilization and an advanced terrestrial biosphere is the result of a happy coincidence.
The consequence of this conclusion is the idea that if primitive life occurs in the cosmos, it remains predominantly so until the end of the existence of the star system. Complex creatures are rare in the galaxy. And if they are out there, they are very likely to be nothing like us.
Regularity
In a new study, scientists have questioned the very original thesis about the complexity of some transitions. They believe that it arose because the issue had previously been predominantly dealt with by astrophysicists with a very good knowledge of stars and a very superficial knowledge of the biochemical basis of evolution.
With experts in the field now joining the research team, analysis and modeling have shown that the “heavy steps” were not so improbable. More precisely, they were indeed fundamental limitations in themselves, such as the Earth’s oxygen-free atmosphere, but the means to overcome these barriers were not hard to create in the course of evolution.
According to phys.org
