Scientists have found a possible geological environment where life could have originated on Earth

In their paper published in the journal eLife, the scientists describe a simple geological process: a stream of gas flowing over a narrow channel of water creates physical conditions that promote nucleic acid replication. This process could occur in porous volcanic rocks on the early Earth, where water containing biomolecules was vaporised by the gas flow.

The researchers created a laboratory model of such an environment by simulating a porous rock with an upward flow of water evaporating when it met a cross-flow of gas. This led to the accumulation of dissolved nucleic acids and salts on the surface of the water. Using fluorescently labelled short DNA fragments, they observed the dynamics of the process.

The results showed that within five minutes, the concentration of DNA near the surface increased threefold, and 30-fold after an hour. This created conditions sufficient for nucleic acid replication. In addition, without changing the temperature, due to fluctuations in salt concentration, the separation of DNA double strands occurred, which is necessary to complete the replication cycle.

Using the fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) method, the scientists confirmed that both the formation of DNA double strands and their separation occur in this system. When they added an enzyme capable of synthesising DNA, they observed an increase in the number of double strands, confirming the possibility of replication under these conditions.

'Our study shows that a simple geological process could have created the conditions for nucleic acid replication on the early Earth without a change in temperature,' says Professor Dieter Braun, one of the paper's authors. - This expands the range of possible environments where life could have originated on planets.

This discovery is important for understanding the origin of life and may help in the search for life on other planets, showing that the necessary conditions may be simpler than previously thought.