Last Puzzle is the Life Puzzle

Last Puzzle is the Life Puzzle

I am intrigued by how life evolved on our planet.

I won't exclude the fact that life would have traveled from outer space in a tiny meteorite.

Leave that argument aside for the time being.

How to approach the problem?

Top down approach?

Bottom up approach?

Either way I am going to get bogged down somewhere around one (1) billion years into the past.

The premises are many.

1. Origin of cellular life is incredible.

Almost impossible in a hostile environment.

2. It happened very very slowly.

3. In its progress toward self perpetuation, there were many obstructions including bombardment of meteorites.

4. It went through five mass extinctions.

Currently it is well into its sixth extinction.

5. There could have been half life half chemical scenario.

How the interaction went on we do not know.

6. Cellular life is so labile it does not leave tell tale stories or leave behind markers in stromatolites.

7. Earth is a living planet and it does not have its oldest rocks available for study.

Its oldest rock is only two and a half billion years old.

Earth life of four and a half billion is estimated from meteorites.

There is two billion years of missing history which we have to surmise.

8. In addition there were catastrophes.

9. I am comfortable with the last 500 million years of its evolution of that the last 3 to 5 million is matter of fact biology being unraveled.

10. How could I dissect the first 500 hundred of the last billion years.

11. In addition there are many other questions.

WHEN?

WHERE?

HOW?

Life originated?

12. What was the smallest living particle?

We seem to assume that we know a lot.

On the contrary we know very little.

We are stuck with the hereditary and survival of the fittest scenario that would suit only the last 5 million years, assuming mitochonridal mutations is rare.

In fact, major mitochondrial mutations are very very rare.

It is our energy store.

If its goes haywire life cannot exist in the current oxygen rich planet with cellular life.

This preamble is for further dissection by my friends far and near.