Metabolism May Be Older Than Life Itself
Linda Geddes, NewScientist
A set of chemical reactions occurring spontaneously in Earth's early chemical environments could have provided the foundations upon which life evolved.The discovery that a version of the Krebs cycle, which occurs in most living cells, can proceed in the absence of cellular proteins called enzymes suggests that metabolism is older than life itself.
A set of chemical reactions occurring spontaneously in Earth's early chemical environments could have provided the foundations upon which life evolved.The discovery that a version of the Krebs cycle, which occurs in most living cells, can proceed in the absence of cellular proteins called enzymes suggests that metabolism is older than life itself.