Oparin, A. I. (1894–1980)

Aleksandr Ivanovich Oparin, a Russian biochemist, advanced theories on the origin of life based on the chemical components of the early atmosphere. At first his theories were met with skepticism, but later they achieved some measure of acceptance in the scientific community.

Oparin was born in the village of Uglich, near Moscow. His family moved to the Russian capital when he was nine, due to there being no secondary school in Uglich. Oparin stayed in Moscow and eventually attended Moscow State University, where he majored in plant physiology. He was greatly influenced by a plant physiologist at the university by the name of K. A. Timiryazev. Timiryazev had known Darwin, and the influence of this relationship can be seen often in Oparin's writings.

Oparin's theory was intended to extend Darwinian evolution back through time to show how simple chemical compounds, both organic and inorganic, could have formed into complex organic compounds, and how the first organism could have formed from these complex organic compounds.

Oparin made his first public presentation of these views in 1922 during the meetings of the Russian Botanical Society. Oparin's theory relied on several ideas that were regarded with skepticism by his peers, for example, the method of nourishment acquisition he proposed for the first organism. Oparin claimed that the primordial organism was heterotrophic; that is, it obtained nutrients by consuming organic compounds. More popular was the theory that the first [Page 1774]organisms would have had to create their own nutrients in a manner similar to that of modern plants.

He also proposed tenets in his theory that contradicted the view of life as essentially molecular and further claimed that living organisms cannot survive without receiving energy and nutrients from their environments. Both views were controversial. Despite opposition, Oparin was able to do much of his work as a result of advancements in organic chemistry, the likes of which were not available to earlier researchers in the field.

In 1935, the Soviet government created a biochemical institute in honor of Oparin's friend and mentor A. N. Bakh. Oparin was instrumental in the founding of the Moscow-based institute and served as its director until his death. While at the institute, Oparin did much to advance the study of the origin of life. In 1957, the first international conference on the origin of life was held under his direction in Moscow, with 16 countries represented. The conference met twice more, once in 1963, and then again in 1970. It was during the 1970 meetings in Pont-à-Mousson that Oparin was named the first president of the new International Society for the Study of the Origin of Life.

Oparin also performed research in the fields of enzymology and industrial biochemistry along with his studies into the origin of life, but he remained focused on the last for the most part. On his 70th birthday, the book Problems in Evolutionary and Industrial Biochemistry was published in Oparin's honor, reflecting his important contributions to that field. He received a multitude of awards during his life including the Order of Lenin, Hero of Socialist Labor, and the Mechnikov Gold Medal. Oparin died on April 21, 1980.

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