truly be known. Scientists can only speculate on and produce theories about what really happened. Two such theories that have arisen from the hydrothermal vent research are Michael Russell and Allan Halls theory and Gunter Wachtershausers theory.Michael Russell and Allan Halls theory is based on iron-sulfur groups, which is an essential electrochemical catalyst in living cells (Russell 2000). They believe that the precipitation of chemical solutions from the hydrothermal vents could have formed a barrier around itself that would prevent further mixing, provided a template for organic molecule chains, and acted as an electrochemical catalyst. Their protected precipitate concentrated organic molecules like amino acids and dissolved chemicals, which reacted from rocks containing iron-rich minerals (Russell 2000). After time this barrier evolved into a cell membrane with organic molecules. This cell membrane could then chemically bond to and assemble a sequence of molecular components of RNA. From there the RNA could turn the amino acids into proteins which then could become DNA. With the help of hydrogen and methane, both of which are found in the hydrothermal vents, the new large molecule could carry out reproduction without the further help of the iron-sulfur template. These new cells could then survive using carbon from carbon monoxide, methane, or carbon dioxide dissolved in the warm saltwater of the vents. They could also receive chemical energy from linking hydrogen and ferric iron (Russell 2000).Gunter Wachtershausers theory is based on metallic ions from sulfides. These metallic ions acted like todays enzymes and formed the first organic molecule of acetic acid from a combination of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen. Acetic acid plays a vital role in metabolism today. Wachtershauser believes that metabolism developed before any other cellular function (Simpson 1999). Wachtershausers theory focuses on the citric acid cycle which he beli...
