One of the biggest scientific mysteries is where life on Earth started.
Research has often focused on the role of deep-sea hydrothermal vents – those towering structures on the ocean floor constantly pumping out a melange of organic and inorganic material. Within these plumes are minerals called iron sulfides, which scientists believe could have helped trigger early chemical reactions that created life.
These same minerals are also found in hot springs today, such as the Grand Prismatic Spring in Yellowstone National Park in the United States. Hot springs are bodies of groundwater heated by volcanic activity beneath Earth’s surface.
Our new research adds to a small but growing body of evidence that ancient versions of these hot springs could have played a pivotal role in the emergence of life on Earth. This helps bridge the gap between competing hypotheses regarding where life could have emerged.
Carbon fixation is the process by which living organisms convert carbon dioxide, in the air and dissolved in water, into organic molecules.
Many life forms, including plants, bacteria and microorganisms known as archaea, have different........