Presto! The Origin of Life in Four Surprisingly Easy Steps

Origin-of-life theorist David Deamer's new book First Life: Discovering the Connection between Stars, Cells, and How Life Began appears intelligently designed to make students think that dramatic progress is being been made in explaining the chemical origin of life. The book is full of almost nothing but sweetness and light on this score, giving no indication that origin of life theorists are fundamentally struggling to explain key steps. Instead, we are treated to the following...