- Massachusetts Institute of Technology scientist says life may be common
- Dr Jeremy England's theory suggests atoms always pick organic path
- This is because they are choosing the path that requires least energy - and life is more efficient than inorganic matter
- It implies that as energy spreads out - entropy - life is inevitable
- Origin of life 'is as unsurprising as rocks rolling downhill,' said Dr England
- 'If Dr England is correct then we are most certainly not alone,' stated Dr Seth Shostak, Director of the Centre for Seti Research
It has often been said that one of the reasons we are yet to find life elsewhere in the universe is that it is rare; most think the development of life on Earth was a fluke. But one of the most prominent young physicists in the world has claimed otherwise, saying that he thinks life is as inevitable as inorganic matter. The bold new theory suggests that atoms, when subjected to energy, will always form some form of life - and it may mean we are part of a universe teeming with other organisms.
The theory has been presented by 31-year-old physicist Dr Jeremy England from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He is regarded as one of the most promising up and coming scientists in biology; a few years ago he was named in the Forbes Rising Stars of Science list. And now in a series of talks he has been giving to various universities, he says the origin of life ‘should be as unsurprising as rocks rolling downhill,’ reported Business Insider.
He has recently published a paper further explaining the research along with two of his colleagues.
Dr England’s idea is based around entropy; namely, energy spreads out or dissipates over time. For example, a cup of coffee left in a room will eventually reach the same temperature as the room itself. Energy will always seek the path of least resistance if left to its own devices, which is why things in the universe - including the universe itself - tend to ‘spread out', also known as an increase in entropy. Based on this, Dr England suggests that when atoms are supplied with energy, in certain conditions they will always eventually give rise to life. ‘You start with a random clump of atoms, and if you shine light on it for long enough, it should not be so surprising that you get a plant,’ he said. The reason for this, and the underlying aspect of his theory, is that while all matter - from rocks to plants - absorbs and dissipates energy, life is much better at redistributing it. This means that, taking the coffee cup example but this time using molecules swimming in an ocean, the atoms will reorganise themselves into life because it is better at dissipating the energy in the water.
Dr England stressed that his theory is not meant to counter Darwin’s theory of evolution, natural selection, but rather compliment it. ‘The reason that an organism shows characteristic X rather than Y may not be because X is more fit than Y, but because physical constraints make it easier for X to evolve than for Y to evolve,’ he said. And in his latest research he said he has carried out a study, with his colleagues, that shows the theory could well be true. ‘We are [...] spurred on by the intriguing possibility that life-like behavior in nonequilibrium systems may turn out to be surprisingly common, now that we have begun learning how to look for its physical signatures,' they wrote. If true, the implications of Dr England’s theories are vast. Perhaps most importantly, it may suggest life elsewhere in the universe is not as rare as once thought, but rather is as common as planets and stars themselves.
Speaking to MailOnline, Dr Seth Shostak, Director of the Centre for Seti Research, said: ‘One of the outstanding problems in science these days is the origin of life.
‘We know that Earth has been [host to life] for close to four billion years, but what we don’t know is how that first self-reproducing bit of chemistry got started.’ He explained that if getting life started required very special conditions, then it would ‘imply that we don’t have much company in the cosmos.’ He continued: 'If Dr England is correct - that biology is virtually a certain consequence of self-organising principles that would apply on any world - then we are most certainly not alone. 'Remember that Fred Hoyle, the famous British cosmologist, once opined that the probability that the random mixing of molecules in the primordial oceans of Earth would eventually produce DNA or RNA was about the same as the chance that a tornado, tearing through a junkyard, would assemble a Boeing 707. ‘In that view, life would be extraordinarily special and rare. Dr. England suggests, however, that nothing could be farther from the truth.’
