You've gone from 'humans find gold useful' to 'maybe life used it to evolve'. That's a bit of a leap.
Do you have any evidence that gold serves a biological purpose at all, let alone one that catalyzes molecular production?
Did you read the quoted passages? It specifically mentions gold is used for bio-chemical applications. IMO, this is an
important discovery, especially when we are exploring how polymerization can occur.
And , importantly, if we can use something in a laboratory, I am willing to bet nature uses a similar (albeit uncontrolled) function for growing things at nano scale.
That was the point, it's only recently that we discovered gold (and heat) is an excellent medium for growing nano scale particles. In the Hazen clip you can see the scientist in front of the little oven growing stuff as part of deep ocean chemistry and the tiny little droplet of gold at the tip of his finger.
(see the Hazen clip @ 31:30)
IMO, any process that can be linked to polymerization and de-polymerization of bio-molecules must be carefully studied. How and why does gold have this ability? Are its properties useful in the formation of bio-chemistry. I believe these are important questions to be answered, as it seems to work very well and can even be used in laboratory settings.
Carbon is all around us and in us. It is in DNA, proteins, fats, and carbohydrates. It makes up approximately 20% of the human body. It symbolizes love and commitment in some cultures. It is scratched on paper to express ideas. It is a key ingredient in the fossil fuels used to power our cities and vehicles. Not surprisingly, carbon is also a key ingredient in the emerging field of nanotechnology. Aside from the naturally occurring forms of carbon, graphite and diamond, carbon is also found in the nanostructured forms of fullerenes (or buckyballs) and carbon nanotubes
http://www.education.mrsec.wisc.edu/nanoquest/carbon/index.html#apps
In the NOVA series "how to make things smaller" , an IBM scientist is using gold to grow
nano tubes of carbon for use in processor chips. Previously all chips were horizontally connected and we are running out of space, the only way to expand processors is building them up.
So we are now synthesizing vertical carbon tubes, which will increase our computing power exponentially.
Start viewing at 14:30.
The point I am making is that gold, because of its purity and resistance to chemical bonding is the perfect medium for synthesizing pure particles at nano scale.
Self-Assembly in Nature
Molecules in nature are programmed to arrange themselves in certain ways. One of the simplest examples is something called a lipid bilayer. Lipid bilayers make up the membranes of cells. Each lipid is a molecule with a charged end that likes to be in water and a neutral end that is similar to oil.
Lipid
You may have noticed in salad dressing bottles that the oil part likes to stay separate from the water and vinegar part forming two distinct layers. This behavior where the oil likes to stay away from the water is also taking place in a cell membrane.
Olive oil does not like to mix with water-based vinegar.1
Since the inside and outside of cells are mostly water, the lipids arrange themselves with their oil-like parts “hiding” on inside and their water-like parts on the outside forming two layers of lipids, or a lipid bilayer. This is just one example of how molecules in nature can self assemble to make a larger functional piece.
Lipid Bilayer - the oily parts hide on the inside of the cell membrane.
Self-Assembly in the Laboratory
Nature is very good at self-assembling complicated structures from less complicated pieces. Scientists would also like to get molecules to self-assemble at the nanoscale to get new and interesting properties. Scientists have made things called self-assembled monolayers (SAMs); these are organized coatings on a surface just one molecule thick. The most common monolayers are made from alkanethiols - molecules that have an oil-like chain with a sulfur atom at one end.
Note, this addresses "self assembly" a crucial step in bio-chemical cell formation and duplication.
I know this is going far afield, but nano particles are crucial to the health or detriment of living things.
I am trying to approach the
beginning, kinda trying to work backwards to the very fundamentals of how natural bio-chemistry itself evolved, and if or how gold could be pertinent to Origins.
Just discovered this clip.
