Abiogenesis: Dilution of Amino Acids in Water is Not the Big Problem. Dilution in Salt is.

In regard to Abiogenesis, the current predominant belief is that life (the first living cell) arose in the ocean. An issue of concern has been the dilution of relatively small amounts of amino acids in the vast primordial oceans. This, in addition to the “abiogenesis water problem”, which includes the issues of hydrolysis and the need for wet-dry cycles. The issue of Amino acids diluted in salt would be a problem for polymerization in a dry cycle.

The theoretical concentration of amino acids in the oceans of the primordial earth range from 0.01 micrograms per liter to 0.3 milligrams per liter of water.

The theoretical concentration of salt in the oceans of the primordial earth could have been as high as 75,000 milligrams per liter. Currently the oceans contain about 35,000 milligrams of salt per liter of water.  If water from the ocean made its way into Darwin’s the warm little pond and most of the water evaporated, the concentrated amino acids would still be diluted by salt.  The best-case scenario using today’s level of salinity and the highest theoretical concentration of amino acids result in a ratio of amino acids to salt of about 117,000 to one Factoring in water makes the dilution even greater. Any experiment where it is necessary for the amino acids to actually make contact with each other and then somehow link together (without ribosomes) to form a protein seems like wishful thinking with so much salt.

Then there is the problem of left and right handed amino acids. Left handed and right handed amino acids would have been formed in equal amounts (per the Miller Experiment). Nature predominantly utilizes left handed amino acids in living organisms. This makes the right handed amino acids useless or worse, detrimental. The effective concentration of useable amino acids in the 0.3 milligrams of amino acids per liter concentration is 0.15 milligrams per liter of water. So, 35,000/0.15 = a dilution of 233,333 to 1.

At least some of the experiments should take into consideration the primordial earth conditions. This should include massive amounts of salt relative to trace amounts of amino acids (or trace amounts of nucleotides for those who prefer the RNA World theory).

What if life self-generated in hot springs? The hot Springs Hypothesis of the origin of life is a thing:

 https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7133448/

 How about this hot spring:

 https://www.downatahotsprings.com/spring-information

 

Mineral Content (all units are mg/L milligrams per liter)

Potassium (K) 3

Silica (Si02) 28

Magnesium (MG) 15

Calcium (Ca) 61

Bicarbonate (HC03_) 211

Fluoride (F) 0.3

Chlorine (CI) 22

Sulfate (S04) 26

Sodium (Na) 25

 Total Dissolved Solids 392 Milligrams per liter of water.

Assuming again 0.15 milligrams of left-handed amino acids per liter of water: 392/0.15 = 2613, a dilution of 2613 to 1 during a dry cycle. Are there any experiments that take into account realistic primordial conditions? 

Here is another hot spring: https://jemezhotsprings.com/about-the-water/

Total Dissolved Solids per liter of water: 2040. 2040/0.15 = 13600 to 1 dilution. Both of these in shallow water with plenty of exposure to the destructive force of UV light unimpeded by ozone (there was not any).  The UV problem makes the high concentrations of amino acids unlikely.

 Another issue with the RNA World theory is the need for freeze–thaw cycles. Hot springs don’t have freeze–thaw cycles. The freeze–thaw cycle problem excludes most of the all the ocean waters (which also have the salt dilution problem), as well as underwater thermal vents. Perhaps the underwater thermal vents will still be useful for the polymerization of amino acids? In addition to the salt dilution issue, no underwater thermal vent has been found that produce anywhere near all the amino acids utilized by living organisms (as well as left-handed only). 

 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0146638013002520

 It would appear that the only suitable environment on the primordial earth was a pristine inland body of water. But any life form or precursors that would self-generate would be destroyed by UV light. Also, one wonders what’s for lunch for the first self-replicating cell in the pristine little pond.