Meditation on the Citric Acid Cycle

The Citric Acid Cycle is one of the most important metabolic pathways in biochemistry.

The Citric Acid Cycle is present in all aerobic organisms, that is, all life on Earth which uses Oxygen to break down food for energy. In a sense, it is the chemical nexus of the lungs and stomach, the point at which the air we breath is used to break down the food we eat.

It is being demonstrated by scientists, for whom I have the utmost respect, that the Citric Acid Cycle and other evolutionarily ancient metabolic pathways are fundamental in understanding the origins of life. Additionally, these insights give us excellent clues where to look for life elsewhere in the universe, and how we might recognize that life when we find it.

If you are interested in the subject of abiogenesis, the process whereby life emerges from non-life, three scientists come immediately to mind whose work you might want to look at:

Robert Hazen
Michael Russel
Jack Szostak

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Meditation on the Citric Acid Cycle
Pencil
~30 x 40 in