Shingai Ndoro Profile picture
Aug 27, 2019 28 tweets 8 min read Read on X
#OriginofLife or #Abiogenesis 🔥🔥🔥

1/ Life is the condition that distinguishes plants & animals (including humans) from inorganic matter, including the capacity for growth, reproduction, functional activity & continual change preceding death.
2/ Life functions thru th specialized chemistry of carbon & water & builds largely upon four key families of chemicals:
i) lipids (fatty cell walls),
ii) carbohydrates (sugars, cellulose),
iii) amino acids (protein metabolism), &
iv) nucleic acids (self-replicating DNA&RNA).
3/ #Abiogenesis is the natural process by which life & living systems arose from non-living elements, such as simple organic compounds.
4/ #Abiogenesis is studied thru a combination of molecular biology, paleontology, astrobiology, oceanography, biophysics, geochemistry &biochemistry.
4/ #Abiogenesis aims 2 determine how pre-life chemical reactions gave rise 2 life. The study of abiogenesis can be geophysical, chemical, or biological, with more recent approaches attempting a synthesis of all three.
5/ The transition from non-living to living entities was not a single event, but an #EvolutionaryProcess of increasing complexity that involved molecular self-replication, self-assembly, autocatalysis & the emergence of cell membranes.
6/ Life as we know it originated roughly 3.5 to 4 billion years ago in the form of a #prebiotic ("before life") or #primordial soup of organic molecules that began to replicate themselves & pass along a genetic formula.
7/ Organic molecules are the molecules of life & are built around chains of carbon atoms that are often quite long.

There are 4 main groups of organic molecules that combine to build cells & their parts:
i) lipids,
ii) carbohydrates,
iii) amino acids, &
iv) nucleic acids.
8/ Th mixture of organic molecules with water under th atmosphere of th primitive Earth is referred as the prebiotic or primordial soup.

There, life originated & th first forms of life were able use th organic molecules 2 survive & reproduce.
9/ Today, all living organisms store & transmit hereditary information using two kinds of molecules: DNA & RNA. Each of these molecules is in turn composed of four kinds of subunits known as nucleotides.
10/ Using the #HeterotrophicOriginofLifeTheory or #PrimordialSoupTheory:
i) Early Earth had a chemically reducing atmosphere.
ii) This atmosphere, exposed 2 energy in various forms, produced simple organic compounds ("monomers").
10/ contd...

iii) These compounds accumulated in a "soup", which may hav been concentrated at various locations (shorelines, oceanic vents etc.).
iv) By further transformation, more complex organic polymers & ultimately life – developed in th primordial soup.
Note:
An #AbioticProcess refers 2 anything that occurs without th presence of life.
A #PrebioticProcess refers 2 something that happens in th atmospheric&chemical conditions that th primitive Earth had about 4.2 billion years ago &that preceded 2 th origin of life on th planet.
11/ Th sequences of nucleotides in particular lengths of DNA or RNA, known as genes, direct th construction of molecules (proteins), which in turn catalyze biochemical reactions, provide structural components 4organisms, &perform many of the other functions on which life depends.
12/ Proteins consist of chains of subunits known as amino acids. The sequence of nucleotides in DNA & RNA therefore determines the sequence of amino acids in proteins. This is a central mechanism in all of biology.
13/ An #EvolutionaryProcess involves a series of natural changes that cause species (populations of different organisms) to arise, adapt to the environment, and become extinct. All species or organisms have originated through the process of biological evolution.
14/ Evolution occurs when there is change in the genetic material - the chemical molecule, DNA - which is inherited from the parents, and especially in the proportions of different genes in a population.
15/ Genes represent the segments of DNA that provide the chemical code for producing proteins. Information contained in the DNA can change by a process known as mutation.
16/ The way particular genes are expressed, i.e., how they influence th body or behavior of an organism -- can also change. Genes affect how th body&behavior of an organism develop during its life &...
16/ contd...this is why genetically inherited characteristics can influence the likelihood of an organism’s survival & reproduction.
17/ Evolution does not change any single individual. Instead, it changes the inherited means of growth and development that typify a population (a group of individuals of the same species living in a particular habitat). Parents pass adaptive genetic changes 2 their offspring.
18/ Ultimately these changes become common throughout a population. As a result, th offspring inherit those genetic characteristics that enhance their chances of survival&ability 2 give birth, which may work well until th environment changes.
19/ Over time, genetic change can alter a species' overall way of life, eg what it eats, how it grows, &where it can live. Evolution took place as new genetic variations in early ancestor populations favored new abilities 2 adapt 2 environmental change &so altered th way of life.
20/ Every living creature has DNA, which has a lot of inherited information about how the body builds itself. Scientists can compare the DNA of two organisms & the more similar the DNA, the more closely related the organisms.
21/ The study of one type of evidence of evolution is called embryology, the study of embryos. An embryo is an unborn (or unhatched) animal or human young in its earliest phases.
22/ Embryos of many different kinds of animals:
mammals, birds, reptiles, fish, etc. look very similar & it is often difficult to tell them apart. Many traits of one type of animal appear in the embryo of another type of animal.
22/ For example, fish embryos&human embryos both have gill slits. In fish they develop into gills, but in humans they disappear before birth.
23/ This shows that the animals are similar and that they develop similarly, implying that they are related, have common ancestors and that they started out the same, gradually evolving different traits, but that the basic plan for a creature's beginning remains the same.

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More from @shingaiRndoro

Feb 15, 2023
CHRISTIANITY AS A WESTERN TRADITION

Christianity was introduced & spread in Africa as not only Western but also European practice. This thread isn’t about doctrines & dogma. It’s history.

Here are the details. 🔥🔥🔥
1. Founding

Christianity was given a doctrinal character &dogmatic form under the authority of Constantine, the Roman Emperor, in 325CE at the Nicene Council. From that, beliefs& institutional structures were set.

Before that there were various groups or multiple orientations.
2. Name of religion

2.1. Christianity is named after the word “Christian,” itself from Christ.

Christ wasn’t a name but a title as for the “the anointed one.” It was derived from Greek Khristos, itself from Greek “khriein” which means “anoint.”
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Jan 21, 2023
1/ Do you know that Ellis Robbins School in Harare had the best swimming pool for all gvt high schools in Zimbabwe?

Do you know that yakafushirwa?

Do you know that it’s hockey/cricket field was rented out to a private club & the school wasn’t allowed to use it?
2/ Do you know that one of the teachers moved into the rugby changing rooms as a staff house and the school team was using the “bush” to change?

When you appoint academics who are hostile to sports & fight old boys‼️
3/ The headmaster then had rented out his house, moved into the hostel and became a Headmaster cum Boarding Master.
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Jan 20, 2023
1/ Life isn’t formulaic. It isn’t a straight line nor is there a life manual.

You learn as you are socialised & as you grow, experience & observe it.

What I will share here is in general terms rather than being prescriptive & absolute.
2/ @brains_muchemwa is a person of intellectual reputation, solid financial means & accomplished entrepreneur in microfinance, fast foods, real estate & junior mining,

Apart from that he is a well known macroeconomic critical thinker, solves problems & innovative for solutions.
3/ The only two people whom you choose in life are a SPOUSE or a FRIEND. The rest you can’t do anything about them.

A choice can be rescinded as you wish.
Read 9 tweets
Jan 2, 2023
Focus on Lithium Mining in Zimbabwe

@Mining_Zimbabwe

FACTS ONLY

1/

1. Bikita Lithium Mine, has been in existence since 1950, currently the biggest lithium producer in Zimbabwe & is owned by China’s Sinomine Resource Group. Acquired it for US$180 million.
2/

2. Arcadia Lithium Mine (near Harare), owned by China’s Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt. Acquired it for US$422 million from Australia’s Prospect Resources. Expected to start producing this year.
3/

3. Sabi Star Lithium Mine (Buhera), owned by China’s Chengxin Lithium Group. Acquired it for US$77 million from MaxMind. Under exploration.
Read 17 tweets
Jan 1, 2023
1/ FACTS ONLY

In the New Year, let’s ask each other if any policy & regulation attracts domestic & foreign capital for investment.

Zimbabwe needs to attract investment if the economy is to grow.

This is the lithium production levels in the world:
2/ Lithium is used in the production of electric vehicle (EV) batteries and this is the battery composition of key minerals:
3/ The full value chain of the EV batteries is like this:
Read 13 tweets
Dec 17, 2022
Imagine those without or can’t afford vehicles but who wish there is a Mercedes Benz GLE for commercial use telling the one with a Honda Fit Nissan JUKE that it’s not a vehicle.
2/ In property development, there is “Old” and “New” capital.

Using old capital net worth to condemn new capital investments is the highest level of financial illiteracy.
3/ Also prudential investment in commercial property should consider:
1. Location
2. Property type
3. Lease tenancy affordability, price per sqm as rent
4. Financing options & cost of money
5. Size of the market in terms of population
6. Economic profile of the market
Read 6 tweets

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