starting from the beginning

When considering the origin of life, you can see why there is a challenge to Darwinian evolution immediately. If natural selection and mutation are the mechanisms that drive the process, first you have to have something to naturally select from and you have to have something to mutate. The Darwinian model presupposes you have life in the first place! But how was that formed?

In origin of life research there is no strongly supported theory at this time. We just don’t know. This doesn’t mean we will not discover a solid origin theory, it just is not happening today and it would be honest to admit as much in the classroom rather than gloss over this fact. Like anything else in life, if you want to know about something, an important part of the process is to start at the beginning.