I find it fitting that the very first question for Ask Dr. Tina is the essential question - How did life start? Scientists believe that life on Earth started about a billion years ago. When the earth was very young, it was very hot. It was so hot that the oceans didn't even exist. Eventually, the earth began to cool down, and water cooled from steam into liquid, which eventually form the oceans.
In the oceans were all the elements, small molecules and atoms, that were needed for life to begin. This is called the primordial soup. When the right conditions occurred, the molecules in the soup reacted with each other to form amino acids. Amino acids are the building blocks of proteins, which are necessary for life. Soon, proteins, fats, RNA and DNA would form and come together into cells. These first cells were the first kind of life, which could divide and make more cells. Eventually, the single celled organisms would evolve into multicelled organisms. These multicelled organisms would continue to evolve and change over millions and millions of years.
Over the millions of years many different types of creatures evolved, like dinosaurs, wooly mammoths, apes, birds, reptiles, and even human beings, until we finally have the world we have today.
I find it fitting that the very first question for Ask Dr. Tina is the essential question - How did life start? Scientists believe that life on Earth started about a billion years ago. When the earth was very young, it was very hot. It was so hot that the oceans didn't even exist. Eventually, the earth began to cool down, and water cooled from steam into liquid, which eventually form the oceans.
In the oceans were all the elements, small molecules and atoms, that were needed for life to begin. This is called the primordial soup. When the right conditions occurred, the molecules in the soup reacted with each other to form amino acids. Amino acids are the building blocks of proteins, which are necessary for life. Soon, proteins, fats, RNA and DNA would form and come together into cells. These first cells were the first kind of life, which could divide and make more cells. Eventually, the single celled organisms would evolve into multicelled organisms. These multicelled organisms would continue to evolve and change over millions and millions of years.
Over the millions of years many different types of creatures evolved, like dinosaurs, wooly mammoths, apes, birds, reptiles, and even human beings, until we finally have the world we have today.
