"Uncovering the Origins of Life: The Role of Soda Lakes"
New research from the University of Washington suggests that shallow "soda lakes" in western Canada could have provided the right conditions for the emergence of life on early Earth, addressing the "phosphate problem" for the origin of life. These lakes, with high levels of dissolved sodium, carbonate, and phosphate, may have concentrated phosphate to levels up to 1 million times higher than in typical waters, potentially offering a solution to the emergence of biological molecules. The study also indicates that soda lakes could have implications for the emergence of life on other planets, such as early Mars and Venus, where similar water chemistry could have occurred.
