Researchers point out that life originates from hydrogen energy

The team of Professor William Martin from the Institute of Molecular Evolution at Harvard University studied how and where life on the early Earth came into being

In their latest work, they studied what kind of chemical environment promotes the metabolism and subsequent chemical reactions that produce Luca itself, and where the energy that drives these reactions comes from

Jessica Wimmer is a doctoral student at the institute and the lead author of this new paper.

When asked about the motivation behind the core question of this new research, Jessica Wemmer said: “We want to know where the energy that drives the original metabolism comes from

The result: Luca's metabolism does not require external sources of energy, such as ultraviolet light, meteorite impact, volcanic eruptions, or radioactivity

To reach this conclusion, the research team must first study the energetics of 402 reactions using a computer program that simulates different environmental conditions in order to distinguish between favorable and unfavorable combinations of energy

The best conditions for energy are alkaline pH around pH 9 and temperature around 80°C.

Jessica Wimmer added: “Regarding the energy at the origin of life, we can say that pure chemical energy is enough

Journal Reference :

1. Jessica LE Wimmer, Joana C.