Page 6-Friday, June 16, 1978-The Michigan Daily Scientists say first LOS ANGELES (AP) - Scientists The theory suggests that the metal- studying how life began 3% billion laden clays - which should have been years ago said Thursday they have common on primitive seashores - discovered that metal-laden clays may provided an environment that favored have played a key role in the process. the concentration of amino acids and "I have a feeling that the first living nucleotides, life's most basic building thing might have been about half clay," blocks. Dr. James Lawless, leader of' the research project at NASA's Ames Research Center, said in a telephone in- terview. "I'm not sure we would even recognize it as life." THE METAL-CLAYS may also have acted as catalysts, helping to stack those building blocks into the complex chemical structures that make life LEARN ENGLISH ALL LEVELS TOEFL-Michigan Test Preparation Class Michigan Language Center 309 S. STATE CALL 663-9415, afternoons being was half clay possible. millions of years, the amino acids and The theory was outlined in Seattle on nucleotides were formed in the at- Thursday during a regional meeting of mosphere. They fell as a life-giving rain the American Chemical Society. into the oceans. Working with Lawless were Dr. Ed- This very thin broth carried the fain- ward Edelson and Lewis Manring. test promise of life into tidepools where In very general terms, the most the seawater evaporated, leaving the widely accepted theory for the begin- building blocks behind to be drenched ning of life involves this scenario: by the incoming tide, then dried out Some four billion years ago, the in- again. fant earth was a hostile and empty AS THE AGES passed, nucleotides world. Great dead oceans churned over somehow linked together into chains of the planet. Volcanoes were building DNA, the substance that carries the mountains and spreading continents. genetic code throughout each organism The atmosphere was hydrogen, water and from generation to generation. vapor, carbon dioxide, methane gas The aminoacids formed chains of and ammonia. their own and became proteins. Among ENERGY coursed through that many vital functions, proteins oversee premordial atmosphere. Lightning the chemical processes of life. produced sudden bursts of electricity. A In living things, DNA sends a constant flow of energy came from the blueprint to the amino acids, telling sun, from cosmic rays and from the them how to arrange themselves into natural radiation of the earth. specific proteins. The energy rearranged some of the atoms and molecules of the at- SOMEWHERE in that theoretical mosphericgises. process, something was able to transfer As the changes continued over the genetic code and reproduce itself. That something was very close to life. ::+::::::::::::The gap in the theory was an inability -:::: :.::: .:: to explain how the building blocks, spread ever so thinly through the oceans, could be concentrated enough to permit stacking into more complex substances. "One of the big stumbling blocks we've come across is to get these things out of that very thin concentration and into a situation where they're close enough to each other so the chemical reactions can occur," Lawless said. He said the group last year showed that a clay containing nickel will at- tract amino acids and-the concentrated amino acids will then link up to form primitive chains similar to protein. "WE HAVE not linked the nucleotides," he said, "although we're planning some more experiments along that line. What we have done is to get them into a position where they can do the job" of forming DNA. M URRASo, he said, "we have shown amino acids and we've shown nucleotides and ANthat sets the stage." AM O The next experimental step, Lawless TOO INTENSE FOR YOUNGER CHILDREN Said, "is to put them both together in a combined solution to see if we can get some kind of primitive genetic code transfer." Lawless said the theory is bolstered by the growing awareness that traces of various metals play a'vital role in the functioning of the human body. Celebrate UM's 50th Season of Summer Theatre Subscribe Now! 4 Shows for the Price of 3 Subscription Office Opens Monday Noon! Repertory '78 Office-Michigan Leage Mon.-Fri. ;Noon to 5' PdM. 764.0450;. _. +t .,. .,............ . .- ... - -, ; . t r.! r'rr'. .i. c. ^ .: f . :. .. ;left. .Y' #. .i. f.*. _#.l.i 1.t. _1. .i *.l i ,f ! ice!