Bains William, Schulze-Makuch Dirk
Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Science, MIT, 77 Mass. Ave., Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.
Rufus Scientific Ltd., 37 The Moor, Melbourn, Royston, Herts SG8 6ED, UK.
Life (Basel). 2016 Jun 30;6(3):25. doi: 10.3390/life6030025.
Life on Earth provides a unique biological record from single-cell microbes to technologically intelligent life forms. Our evolution is marked by several major steps or innovations along a path of increasing complexity from microbes to space-faring humans. Here we identify various major key innovations, and use an analytical toolset consisting of a set of models to analyse how likely each key innovation is to occur. Our conclusion is that once the origin of life is accomplished, most of the key innovations can occur rather readily. The conclusion for other worlds is that if the origin of life can occur rather easily, we should live in a cosmic zoo, as the innovations necessary to lead to complex life will occur with high probability given sufficient time and habitat. On the other hand, if the origin of life is rare, then we might live in a rather empty universe.
地球上的生命提供了一份独特的生物记录，从单细胞微生物到具有技术智慧的生命形式。我们的进化沿着从微生物到太空探索人类的日益复杂的路径，以几个主要步骤或创新为标志。在这里，我们识别出各种主要的关键创新，并使用一组模型组成的分析工具集来分析每个关键创新发生的可能性。我们的结论是，一旦生命起源完成，大多数关键创新很容易发生。对于其他世界的结论是，如果生命起源能够相当容易地发生，我们应该生活在一个宇宙动物园中，因为在足够的时间和栖息地条件下，导致复杂生命所需的创新很可能会发生。另一方面，如果生命起源很罕见，那么我们可能生活在一个相当空旷的宇宙中。
