All articles tagged with #origin of life
A new paper argues that life may have started within surface-attached, jelly-like gels on rocks, which could trap and organize reactive molecules, shield delicate chemistry from UV and heat, and support the emergence of metabolism and polymers before membrane-bound cells.
A Nature study analyzing deep-sea sediments found Heimdallarchaeia genomes with components of aerobic respiration, suggesting Asgard archaea could tolerate and potentially use oxygen long before Earth’s oxygenation, providing metabolic groundwork for the archaeal–eukaryotic merger that gave rise to complex life.
Researchers identified QT-45, a 45-base RNA ribozyme that can act like a tiny polymerase to copy RNA strands and, crucially, can synthesize a copy of its own sequence by base-pairing with a template. In tests, QT-45 copied various RNAs with about 95% fidelity (roughly 2–3 errors per copy), though the process is slow. This demonstrates self-replicating RNA is plausible at very small sizes and could be refined by evolution under prebiotic conditions.
A University of Sydney doctoral student creates tiny cosmic-dust analogues in the lab by exciting a mix of nitrogen, carbon dioxide and acetylene with 10,000 volts of electricity, reproducing conditions around stars to study how dust catalyzes organic molecules and potentially seeded life; the team aims to build a database of dust types to compare with meteorites and astronomical observations.
Researchers modeling frozen hydrogen cyanide find it converts to hydrogen isocyanide, enabling two pathways to prebiotic molecules like amino acids and nucleobases, even in extreme cold. The work suggests cyanide-based chemistry could have seeded life on early Earth and may occur on icy worlds such as Titan or in other planetary atmospheres across the solar system.
Scientists describe the Lost City hydrothermal field off the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, featuring calcite chimneys up to 60 meters tall and vents that emit hydrogen- and methane-rich fluids, supporting life without magma heat and potentially shedding light on how life began on Earth and perhaps on icy worlds; a 2024 1,268‑meter mantle rock core from the site could hold crucial clues, and the ecosystem’s uniqueness and mining threats have spurred calls to protect it, potentially as a World Heritage site.
New computer simulations suggest solid hydrogen cyanide crystals in cold environments have reactive surfaces that can convert HCN into hydrogen isocyanide, enabling formation of complex prebiotic molecules and potentially driving the origin of life; researchers plan lab tests to verify these surface-catalyzed reactions.
New experiments support the 'RNA world' hypothesis by demonstrating how RNA could have formed on early Earth, with borates playing a beneficial role in stabilizing RNA components, suggesting a plausible pathway for the origin of life around 4.3 billion years ago, possibly delivered by asteroid impacts.
The article explores the hypothesis that life on Earth may have originated from microorganisms on Mars, which could have been transported via meteorites. It discusses the timing of planetary formation, early conditions on Mars and Earth, and the challenges of microbial survival during space travel, ultimately questioning whether Earth’s life could have come from Mars or if it originated independently on Earth.
Chemist John Sutherland explains that life's origins are plausible through natural chemistry involving simple molecules like hydrogen cyanide, challenging the idea that life requires a miracle, and suggests that life could be common in the universe if the right chemical conditions are met.
Scientists have identified the last universal common ancestor (LUCA) of all life on Earth, dating it to around 4.2 billion years ago. LUCA was a complex, cellular organism that thrived in hot, oxygen-free environments using hydrogen-based metabolism and had early immune systems, indicating rapid evolution of life shortly after Earth's formation.
New research pushes back the timeline of LUCA, the last universal common ancestor, to about 4.2 billion years ago during Earth's Hadean Eon, suggesting life was active and evolving in extreme conditions much earlier than previously thought, with signs of primitive immune systems and environmental interaction.
A new study suggests that the Last Universal Common Ancestor (LUCA) of all life on Earth existed around 4.2 billion years ago, much earlier than previously thought, and likely had an early immune system, indicating that life was fighting off viruses from its very beginnings.
NASA's analysis of samples from asteroid Bennu revealed the presence of essential sugars like ribose and glucose, supporting theories about the origins of life and suggesting that key ingredients for life may be widespread in the solar system. Additionally, the samples contained a unique 'space gum' material and dust from ancient stars, providing insights into the early solar system's chemistry.
Scientists discovered signs of microbial life in a highly alkaline, blue volcanic goo beneath the Pacific Ocean near the Mariana Trench, providing insights into extreme habitats and potential origins of life on Earth.