Exploring the Origins of Life on Earth: Investigating the Role of Hydrothermal Vents and Iron-Based Minerals

Wednesday - January 17 2024, 14:27 UTC - 10 months ago

Scientists from Newcastle University have conducted a study, supported by the UK's Natural Environmental Research Council, to investigate the origins of life on Earth over 3.5 billion years ago. Their experiments involved combining hydrogen, bicarbonate, and iron-rich magnetite, which resulted in the formation of organic molecules, including fatty acids needed to form cell membranes. The team's findings suggest that the convergence of hydrogen-rich fluids and bicarbonate-rich waters onto iron-based minerals in hydrothermal vents may have been responsible for the formation of membranes and the genesis of specific acids found in meteorites.

The origins of life on Earth have been a topic of scientific inquiry for centuries. Yet, the question of exactly how life emerged from non-living matter is still shrouded in mystery. Thanks to the diligent work of Newcastle University scientists, we may be one step closer to understanding that elusive moment when life first began.Under the support and funding of the UK's Natural Environmental Research Council, a team of researchers from Newcastle University set out to explore the transformation of inert geological materials into the first living systems .

Their experiments involved combining hydrogen, bicarbonate, and iron-rich magnetite under conditions similar to those found in mild hydrothermal vents, found on the ocean floor. The results of their study, published in the journal Communications Earth & Environment, reveal how key molecules needed for life may have been produced by inorganic chemicals in these environments.One of the key findings of the study is the discovery of the production of organic molecules, particularly fatty acids with up to 18 carbon atoms, in the simulated hydrothermal vent environment .

Fatty acids are important long organic molecules that have regions that both attract and repel water, allowing them to form cell-like compartments in water. These compartments are crucial for isolating internal chemistry from the external environment and could potentially have aided in the formation of the first cell membranes.But where do these fatty acids come from? This question has been a major point of speculation in the search for the origins of life .

The team from Newcastle University believes that the fatty acids may have been formed in the hydrothermal vents themselves. The hot, hydrogen-rich fluids erupting from the vents mixed with carbon dioxide-rich seawater, creating the perfect conditions for the production of these molecules. The team replicated this process in their laboratory, with the addition of iron-based minerals, which were present on the early Earth .

This resulted in the formation of the desired fatty acids, providing insight into how these essential molecules may have formed on the primordial Earth.Lead author Dr. Graham Purvis, who conducted the study at Newcastle University and is now a Postdoctoral Research Associate at Durham University, notes the importance of cellular compartments in the formation of life. He states, "Central to life's inception are cellular compartments, crucial for isolating internal chemistry from the external environment .

These compartments were instrumental in fostering life-sustaining reactions by concentrating chemicals and facilitating energy production, potentially serving as the cornerstone of life's earliest moments." The team's findings suggest that the simultaneous convergence of hydrogen-rich fluids from alkaline hydrothermal vents and bicarbonate-rich waters onto iron-based minerals could have precipitated the first cell membranes .

Not only could this have contributed to the formation of early cell membranes, but the process may have also been responsible for the diversity of membrane types that were present at the beginning of life. Additionally, this transformative process may have played a role in the genesis of specific acids found in the elemental composition of meteorites, providing further insight into the building blocks of life .

The team's Principal Investigator, Dr. Jon Telling, Reader in Biogeochemistry at the School of Natural and Environmental Sciences at Newcastle University, emphasizes the significance of the study in understanding the origins of life. "The results of our study suggest that the hydrothermal vent environment played a crucial role in the formation of key molecules needed for life. This may have been the starting point for the evolution of more complex biological systems, leading ultimately to the diverse array of life that we see on Earth today," says Dr .

Telling.In summary, the study conducted by Newcastle University scientists has shed light on the potential steps involved in the origins of life on Earth. By simulating key aspects of the early Earth's chemical environment and the presence of hydrothermal vents, the team has shown how inorganic chemicals could have given rise to essential organic molecules. This groundbreaking research deepens our understanding of the processes that may have led to the formation of the first living systems on our planet .