Part 6/8:
What makes the metabolism-first perspective captivating is its potential alignment with pure physics and non-biological processes. Living systems require low-entropy energy to maintain their complexity, ensuring that they contribute to the universe's overall entropy growth.
The Impact of Hydrothermal Vents
Several biologists and geologists theorized about life’s origins, proposing it didn't emerge from a simple warm pond scenario—as famously suggested by Darwin—but instead necessitated a unique biochemical arrangement that enabled complex reactions to culminate in living organisms. They speculated that the right conditions might exist at hydrothermal vents on the ocean floor, environments rich in chemical energy.