A study takes up Darwin's idea that life began in "small warm ponds"

The old idea about the origin of life in small hot shelves, practically as old as Earth, has returned backed by new research.

Life on Earth began 4.540 million years ago when carbon-rich meteorites hit the planet and dispersed the essential elements for its development in "small warm ponds," according to a study published in 'PNAS'.

This theory that we descended from something that emerged in hot puddles was suggested by Darwin in the nineteenth century, although it had been refuted by those who claim that everything started around hydrothermal vents in the oceans.

Now this new study recovers the old idea and its authors affirm that it is plausible that, in this nutrient-rich breeding ground, the first self-replicating molecules were born -that is, that they can make copies of themselves- and also that they had the first genetic code for life.

It is believed that the oldest genetic material is ribonucleic acid (RNA), which is like the previous step to a cell and that has a fundamental role in the translation of the code into proteins, in addition to regulating growth, aging and death. of the cells. The first fossil evidence of life dates back to 3,700 million years.

Scientists who have participated in the study argue that RNA probably formed the basis of early life because of its "ubiquity in living cells and their ability to store genetic information and catalyze their own replica," according to statements made by The Independent.

The context in which it was developed was in a primitive Earth besieged by meteorites, in a moment in which the ones that sent were the volcanic gases and the solid ground was scarce, while the continents were emerging from the ocean.

To carry out this model of life creation, they have turned to astrophysics, biology, chemistry and geology and estimate that the first RNA polymers "probably" appeared 4.17 billion years ago, although the figure could be nearing the time of the formation of the planet.

From this dating the idea could be detached that the simple life could be common in the universe, since at that moment the Earth was not protected from the rays of the sun, besides the bombing of meteorites. It is also a sign that intelligent life takes a long time to develop.

One of the authors, defending his theoretical document, states that it seemed "too clear" that the RNA had evolved "before the DNA" because "the latter is too complex to be the first chink of life that appeared".

With these calculations and this new measurement model, the authors state that the simple process of RNA evolved as molecules adapted better to their environment and became more numerous.