Its_gora
Electric Spark
Electric sparks can generate amino acids and sugars from an
atmosphere loaded with water, methane, ammonia and hydrogen, as was shown in
the famous
Miller-Urey experiment reported in 1953, suggesting that lightning might
have helped create the key building blocks of life on Earth in its early days.
Over millions of years, larger
and more complex molecules could form.
Community Clay
The first molecules of life
might have met on clay, according to an idea elaborated by organic chemist
Alexander Graham Cairns-Smith at the University of Glasgow in Scotland. These
surfaces might not only have concentrated these organic compounds together, but
also helped organize them into patterns much like our genes do now.
Deep Sea-Vents
The Deep Sea-Vent theory suggests that life may have begun at submarine hydrothermal vents, spewing key hydrogen rich molecules. Their rocky nooks could then have concentrated these molecules together and provided mineral crystals for critical reactions. Even now, these vents, rich in chemical and thermal energy, sustain vibrant ecosystems.
Panspermia
Panspermia
Perhaps life did not begin on Earth at all, but was brought here from elsewhere in space, a notion known as panspermia. For instance, rocks regularly get blasted off Mars by cosmic impacts, and a number of Martian meteorites have been found on Earth that some researchers have controversially suggested brought microbes over here, potentially making us all Martians originally. Other scientists have even suggested that life might have hitchhiked on comets from other star systems. However, even if this concept were true, the question of how life began on Earth would then only change to how life began elsewhere in space.
