Current scientific theories hold that, in the conditions that prevailed on the early earth, the first life, from which all other life descended, arose from non living matter. According to current hypotheses, the universe is 20 billion years old and the sun and planets 4 to 5 billion years old having formed from a cloud of cosmic dust. The gravitational compression and radioactive decay of the materials making up the earth generated a great internal heat. As the earth's interior became molten, volcanic action drove out various gases that became the earth's atmosphere. The earth's atmosphere consisted of hydrogen ( ), ammonia ( ), water vapor ( ), and methane ( ). The presence of water vapor lead to torrential rains that filled the low places of the earth's surface with water and, thus, gave rise to the oceans. The oceans contained dissolved salts from the earth and ammonium and methane ions from dissolved atmospheric gases. Solar radiation, lightning, and heat all played a role in producing complex organic compounds, such as amino acids, hydrocarbons, fatty acids, simple sugars, and purine and pyrimidine bases, from the original materials dissolved in the oceans. With no free oxygen to oxidize the organic compounds or microorganisms to decay them, the organic compounds accumulated in the seas for millions of years.
Yet, the presence of simple organic compounds was not enough for the beginning of life: macro-molecules such as polypeptides and nucleic acids were needed. It is hypothesized that these were synthesized from their building block components by the concentrating effect of the heat of the sun and ultraviolet radiation on the water in
