Cheltenham HS

 What's Life Got To Do With It?

 
 Life is not something I can easily describe. Due to the 
 variety and sometimes complexity of organisms, the concept 
 of being alive cannot be put into one sentence. Instead, 
 it involves the combination of many properties and ideas. 
 I am certain that all life is associated with cells, may 
 it be thousands or just one. Life occurs within a time 
 period when these cells can grow and adapt to the world 
 around them. During this time period, organisms use 
 energy to develop new skills and functions, like 
 metabolism and homeostasis, necessary for survival. 
 This energy provides the ability to reproduce and 
 create new life similar to oneself. Though I interpret 
 life on a somewhat scientific level, when it comes to 
 human life, I feel you cannot over look the importance 
 of emotions and the "human spirit". Life is not just 
 some body filled with cells working together to stay 
 alive, but the idea that this body can have feelings 
 and share them with other living creatures. Life is a 
 time to love and accomplish goals. It is, however, 
 fragile and for some organisms it lasts longer than 
 others. Although the reality of living is that a 
 single life can end, the continued reproduction that 
 life's energy provides, can help ensure that life itself 
 will not perish. 

 
 I believe, like many scientists, that life was first 
 created by chemical evolution. Through some combination 
 of elements and gases--like hydrogen, water vapor, 
 methane and ammonia, that made up the early 
 atmosphere--and energy from volcanoes, ultraviolet 
 radiation, and lightning, the first organic molecules 
 were formed (Alexander, Bahret, Chaves, Courts, 
 D'Alessio, 1989). These organic molecules could have 
 collected in the ancient ocean and produced amino acids. 
 Miller and Urey's experiment helps me justify my beliefs 
 because in their experiment, they circulated the
 materials, which I believe were in the early atmosphere, 
 past an electric discharge and found liquid containing 
 amino acids(Alexander et al.,1989). I do think that the 
 building blocks for life probably died and were created 
 again many times before the organic molecules that 
 produced life fully evolved. Before this evolution 
 could occur, the amino acids helped create 
 RNA(Alexander et al.,1989). I believe that RNA, due to 
 its ability to reproduce itself without proteins, is the 
 ancestor to DNA(Nash, 1993). With the creation of these 
 chemicals, I believe cells and life could 
 begin to form. 
 

 Alexander, Peter and others. Biology: The Living World. 
 Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice Hall, Inc., 1989.

 Nash, Madeleine J. "How Did Life Begin?," 
 Time 11 October 1993: 69-74.