According to the lead researcher from the University of South Florida, the meteoric phosphorus was added to the simple organic compounds, creating phosphorus biomolecules identical to those we see in all living things today.
Scientists do not know for sure whether there is life elsewhere in the universe, but it was clear that the ingredients for life, primarily water, came to Earth from space. meteorites.
In an article published in the journal PNAS of the American National Academy of Sciences, Prof. Matthew Pask from the Department of Archeology in South Florida and researchers from the University of Washington and the Edinburgh Center for Carbon Innovation, revealed findings that explain how the active phosphorus that is an essential element for the creation of the first life forms arrived on Earth.
The scientists discovered that during the first two out of four eras - the Hadean Age and the Archaic Age - a strong bombardment of meteorites provided the reactive phosphorus whose release in the water might have created the precursor molecules for life. The scientists documented the existence of phosphorus in rocks from the beginning of the Archaic era and showed that the element was common 3.5 billion years ago.
The scientists concluded that the meteorites transported the phosphorus inside minerals that did not exist on the original surface of the Earth. These minerals were eroded by water and released the phosphorus in a way only seen on the early Earth.
The discovery answers one of the key questions asked by scientists seeking to uncover the processes that led to the rise of the first life forms, and that is - why do we not see new life being created today.
"It is possible that meteorite phosphorus was the fuel that provided the energy and phosphorus required to start life," said Pasek, who studies the chemical composition of space and how it might have contributed to the creation of life. "The meteoric phosphorus was added to the simple organic compounds, creating phosphorus biomolecules identical to those we see in all living things today."
Pasak says that the research "provides an answer to the question of why the conditions for creating life were created billions of years ago, but do not exist today." "The current research shows that this was indeed the case: the chemistry of phosphorus on the early Earth was significantly different billions of years ago compared to the situation today," he added.
The team of researchers came to the conclusion after examining rock samples and drilling from Australia, Zimbabwe, West Virginia, Wyoming and Avon Park in Florida. Previous studies have shown that before the appearance of modern life based on the DNA, RNA and protein molecules known today, early biology was based on RNA only. RNA-based life synthesized phosphorus from the environment, which in turn created the current forms of compounds with low solubility and reactivity.
It is possible that the meteorites provided reactive phosphorus in minerals consisting of nickel iron and phosphorus - schreibersite which is soluble in water and releases active phosphorus. Phosphorus is the salt that scientists believe was involved in the creation of the first prebiotic (pre-life) molecules.
Of all the samples examined, only the oldest - a carbon compound from the beginning of the Archean period in Australia - revealed the presence of phosphorus. The other natural sources of phosphorus included lightning strikes, eruptions of geothermal water and the activity of bacteria found in an extremely airless environment, but no other source of phosphorus has been identified that could provide large amounts of the element that were required to melt in the first oceans and which enabled the rise of life, the researchers conclude.
The researchers say that meteoritic phosphorus may have been common enough to change the chemistry of the oceans when its chemical signature was captured in the marine deposits where it was preserved.
However, the researchers say that it is still possible that other sources of phosphorus, such as hydrothermal systems, may be identified, and this may reduce the total mass of meteorites required to provide enough phosphorus, and thus further work is required to determine the exact contribution of separate sources of an element that is certainly essential for life.
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