Firstly, I believe the proper form of saying something is 'not within the limits' is by the word "excluding"; Ex is Latin, meaning 'without'.
Secondly, We share DNA patters with plants as well. Not as high of a percent, but the relationship is still there. According to the single cell theory: A single self-replicating strand of RNA was the basis of life. Everything came from that one strand of RNA, as the replication allowed copies to be made, a more complex cell developed, which in turn clustered together and eventually formed specialized tasks. That, in turn, lead to complex organisms being formed, some groups of cells which photosynthesized food instead of actively gathering it, became the first "green" (or plantlike, photosynthesizing) bacteria, which in turn lead to plants of all sorts. This first cell could have come around by abiogenesis. When the earth cooled after being a spinning, spiraling ball of molten rock and free-floating chemicals, and when the water in the oceans was still in it's young age, some acids were still being mixed up at the bottom of the ocean near the heat vents. Those heat vents could have produced the heat to mix the acids (amino) that would have been required to form RNA strands that were self-replicating. Albeit, the chances were pretty high, (3.044x10^40, according to "Common misconceptions about Abiogenesis, and I think a similar article can be found at talkorigins) one must remember that there are literally millions of vents in the ocean floor. With that in mind, it seems very likely self-replicating RNA strands actually formed on their own, without the help of a creator. (minimum length needed to form self-replicating strands is 28 letters)
I hope this has helped.
-Kv
[Edited to include abiogenisis]
[This message has been edited by keenanvin, 01-14-2002]
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