What is Oparin's Hypothesis?

Answer 1

In 1924, Aleksandr Oparin (and John Haldane separately in 1929) hypothesized that the formation of amino acids and proteins from non-living chemicals, a process known as "abiogenesis", could have occurred in the conditions present shortly after the formation of the Earth. This process would not be observable now because other organisms would absorb created proteins, which would be rare anyway due to the higher concentration of oxygen in Earth's current atmosphere. Oparin's Hypothesis (also called the Oparin-Haldane Hypothesis) remains unconfirmed as a possible source for life on Earth. Experiments that simulated past conditions on the Earth did generate some simple amino acids, but not in the form or complexity of organic proteins.

Answer 2

Oparin's Hypothesis, proposed by Aleksandr Oparin in the 1920s, suggested that life on Earth originated from a primordial soup of organic molecules that formed in the early oceans. Oparin theorized that a combination of energy from lightning and ultraviolet radiation could have sparked chemical reactions leading to the formation of simple organic compounds, eventually giving rise to life. His ideas were foundational in the development of our understanding of abiogenesis, the process by which life arises from non-living matter.