🌏 The origin of life on Earth discovered?

In the heart of the oceans, in total darkness, perhaps the key to one of the greatest chapters in our history occurred: the birth of life. Far from the surface and sunlight, improbable chemical reactions, fueled by the heat from the depths, could have manufactured the first essential building blocks for existence.

Scientists from the University of Alberta examined samples of oceanic crust collected in the South China Sea. Their work reveals traces of a transformation of nitrogen into usable compounds, all without the help of living beings. Catalyzed by minerals, this reaction notably generated ammonium, a molecule indispensable for building more elaborate organic structures.


This discovery helps us better understand how the beginnings of life could have emerged in the absence of sunlight. Hydrothermal vents, rich in minerals and thermal energy, offered an ideal setting. The production of ammonium from ambient nitrogen would thus have filled an important gap in scenarios for the emergence of life.

Furthermore, identifying this phenomenon in its natural environment represented a technical challenge. Current biological activity indeed alters the signature of nitrogen in seawater. By analyzing deeply buried rocks, the team managed to isolate geochemical markers specific to a non-biological process, thereby avoiding interference related to current life.

Conducted in partnership with the South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, this study, published in Nature Communications, suggests that the required conditions were likely common in ancient oceans. The process would therefore not have been anecdotal, but could have operated on a very large scale.

While the young Sun was less energetic, climate models predict a completely frozen planet. Geological data, however, which attest to liquid oceans very early on, contradict this hypothesis. The production of certain gases by hydrothermal systems could have contributed to warming the atmosphere, making the environment more hospitable.