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Encyclopedia of Astrobiology pp 1–6Cite as

Primordial Soup

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Synonyms

Prebiotic soup; Primitive broth

Definition

The primordial soup is a generic term that describes the aqueous solution of organic compounds that accumulated in primitive water bodies of the early Earth as a result of endogenous abiotic syntheses and the extraterrestrial delivery by cometary and meteoritic collisions, and from which some have assumed that the first living systems evolved.

Overview

The term “primordial soup” and its synonyms are linked to the proposal of the heterotrophic theory of the origin of life, which was suggested independently in the 1920s by Alexander I. Oparin, John B. S. Haldane, and few others. Based on the simplicity and ubiquity of fermentative reactions, Oparin and Haldane proposed that the first organisms must have been heterotrophic bacteria that could not make their own food but obtained organic material present in the primitive milieu. In order to support his proposal, Oparin appealed not only to astronomical observations that had shown that...

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References and Further Reading

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Facultad de Ciencias, UNAM, Cd. Universitaria, Mexico, DF, Mexico

    Antonio Lazcano

Authors
  1. Antonio Lazcano
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Antonio Lazcano .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Centro de Biología Molecular, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain

    Ricardo Amils

  2. Labo. d'Astrophysique de Bordeaux (LAB), Observatoire Aquitain des Sciences de l'Univers (OASU), Floirac CX, France

    Muriel Gargaud

  3. Centro de Astrobiología (CAB), Inst. Nacional de Técnica Aeroespacial, Torrejón de Ardoz, Madrid, Spain

    José Cernicharo Quintanilla

  4. Geophysical Lab., Carnegie Institution of Washington, Washington, District of Columbia, USA

    Henderson James Cleaves

  5. Astronomy Department, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Massachusetts, USA

    William M. Irvine

  6. Dépt. Sc. de la Terre et de l’Atmosphère, Université du Québec, Montréal, Montreal, Québec, Canada

    Daniele Pinti

  7. Centre National d'Etudes Spatiale (CNES) DPI/E2U, Paris CX, France

    Michel Viso

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© 2014 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Lazcano, A. (2014). Primordial Soup. In: Amils, R., et al. Encyclopedia of Astrobiology. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27833-4_1275-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27833-4_1275-2

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-27833-4

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Physics and AstronomyReference Module Physical and Materials ScienceReference Module Chemistry, Materials and Physics

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