Primordial lightning strikes may have helped life emerge on Earth
The Hindu
The emergence of the Earth’s first living organisms billions of years ago may have been facilitated by a bolt out of the blue - or perhaps a quintillion of them.
Researchers said on Tuesday that lightning strikes during the first billion years after the planet’s formation roughly 4.5 billion years ago may have freed up phosphorus required for the formation of biomolecules essential to life. The study may offer insight into the origins of Earth’s earliest microbial life - and potential extraterrestrial life on similar rocky planets. Phosphorus is a crucial part of the recipe for life. It makes up the phosphate backbone of DNA and RNA, hereditary material in living organisms, and represents an important component of cell membranes.More Related News