14 DAY TRIAL // In a paper published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences just yesterday, December 8, researchers detail the use of a laser to recreate what might have been the original spark of life on our planet in laboratory conditions.
More precisely, the brainiacs behind this series of experiments claim that, by firing a laser at a chemical compound that evidence indicates was present on Earth some 4 billion years ago, they managed to produce the molecular building blocks of life.
How the experiments played out
In their paper in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the researchers detail that the chemical compound they toyed with goes by the name of formamide. It usually presents itself in the form of a colorless, oily liquid.
As part of their investigation, Svatopluk Civis of the Heyrovsky Institute of Physical Chemistry in Prague and colleagues first created ionized formamide gas and then fired a laser at it for just half a nanosecond.
Temperatures of up to 7,640 degrees Fahrenheit (4,230 degrees Celsius), a shock wave, and ultraviolet and X-ray radiation followed. Even wackier, the chemical reactions that occurred translated into the creation of the molecular building blocks of life.
More precisely, the laser shot caused the ionized formamide gas to birth adenine, guanine, cytosine, thymine and uracil. Svatopluk Civis and colleagues explain that, when combined, these so-called nucleobases form DNA and RNA.
The origin of life on Earth
The researchers argue that, in light of these findings, it's safe to assume that life on Earth started when our planet was bombarded by a whole lot of asteroids that, just like the laser they used in their experiments, broke down formamide and created the building blocks of DNA and RNA.
True, the scientists are yet to figure out how and why adenine, guanine, cytosine, thymine and uracil have such a knack for getting together, but the fact of the matter is that, as shown by these experiments, it is possible for life to appear from nonliving matter.
This theory is backed up by the fact that, as shown by previous investigations, life on our planet emerged around the same time as the so-called Late Heavy Bombardment did, which is believed to have taken place 4 billion to 3.85 billion years and during which countless asteroids hit Earth.
“The coincidence of the Late Heavy Bombardment (LHB) period and the emergence of terrestrial life about 4 billion years ago suggest that extraterrestrial impacts could contribute to the synthesis of the building blocks of the first life-giving molecules,” the scientists say.
“Our findings thus demonstrate that extraterrestrial impacts, which were one order of magnitude more abundant during the LHB period than before and after, could not only destroy the existing ancient life forms, but could also contribute to the creation of biogenic molecules,” they add.
If it is indeed true that asteroids bombardments birthed life on our planet some 4 billion years ago, this could mean that other planets that were subjected to the same treatment ended up being home to various life forms as well.
