I've always thought the hydrothermal vents theory seemed the most logical, as indebted as life is to the presence of water. I'm not very well versed in it, unfortunately. Has there been any further elucidation upon what elements or compounds present that would lead to the formation of amino acids/peptides/enzymes? I remember reading recently about a younger chemist who got kind of famous recently working on self-assembling organic molecules and thought that they contained the necessary properties to "evolve" in some capacity, do you know much about this and what, if any, influence it has had?
The steps towards understanding what elements lead to the formation of amino acids/peptides is almost fully known. It is the step from amino acids to more complex entities like replicating RNA and proteins, that remains shrouded in mystery. For a quite complete overview on the current state of things check this out lecture by Jack Szostak. I have written about the dominant theory in systems chemistry to describe self-organizing organic compounds. You can check it out here.Has there been any further elucidation upon what elements or compounds present that would lead to the formation of amino acids/peptides/enzymes?
I remember reading recently about a younger chemist who got kind of famous recently working on self-assembling organic molecules and thought that they contained the necessary properties to "evolve" in some capacity, do you know much about this and what, if any, influence it has had?