Question

Question #2028f

Answer 1

No one knows. There are many competing theories.

Explanation:

There are several speculations about the origin of the information found in living things. Protein first, DNA first RNA world and intelligent design.

1. Is the protein first theories. These theories speculate that by accident amino acids joined together to form proteins. Then by a form of reverse transcription the proteins formed either RNA or DNA sequence of bases that could then replicate the proteins.

These theories for the most part have been discarded. The odds of creating a functional protein by chance are so remote to be greater than all of the atoms and time presently known to be present in the universe. Also proteins are fragile and are more likely to be destroyed by chance collisions than created.

1. is the DNA first theories. These speculate that by accident sequences of bases were formed. Crystals or clay that are proposed as the templates for the formation of the sequences of bases are to regular. DNA is a non repeating pattern than has complex specified information. Crystals are regular repeating patterns. All attempts to attribute the "blue print" of DNA to natural laws fall afoul of this problem. Natural laws create regular patterns, not the irregular patterns found in DNA.

These theories for the most part have been discarded. DNA needs proteins to bind the bases to the sugar background. Proteins are needed to transcribe the DNA. The chances of getting a sequence of DNA that would code for proteins out of all the possible arrangements of DNA at the same time getting the proteins needed to build that same DNA are practically impossible.

1. The RNA world is now the most popular of the materialistic theories. The theory is that somehow simple RNA molecules were produced. These molecules can act as protein like enzymes as well as a source of information.

Again RNA like proteins are fragile and can be easily destroyed. A self replicating RNA molecule would need at least 250 codons ( a codon is three RNA bases) to achieve self replication. Chance and natural law seem to be inadequate to explain the information on the DNA.

1. The Intelligent design theory. Intelligence is know to create information. Information according to Shannon's laws of information comes from information. An intelligent designer could explain the source of information on the DNA

The problem is that intelligent design proposes a non material source of information. The current philosophy of science tends to reject any non material cause as a serious scientific theory.