Geochemistry and the Origin of Life: From Extraterrestrial Processes, Chemical Evolution on Earth, Fossilized Life’s Records, to Natures of the Extant Life

Abstract

In 2001, the first author (S.N.) led the publication of a book entitled “Geochemistry and the origin of life” in collaboration with Dr. Andre Brack aiming to figure out geo- and astro-chemical processes essential for the emergence of life. Since then, a great number of research progress has been achieved in the relevant topics from our group and others, ranging from the extraterrestrial inputs of life’s building blocks, the chemical evolution on Earth with the aid of mineral catalysts, to the fossilized records of ancient microorganisms. Here, in addition to summarizing these findings for the origin and early evolution of life, we propose a new hypothesis for the generation and co-evolution of photosynthesis with the redox and photochemical conditions on the Earth’s surface. Besides these bottom-up approaches, we introduce an experimental study on the role of water molecules in the life’s function, focusing on the transition from live, dormant, and dead states through dehydration/hydration. Further spectroscopic studies on the hydrogen bonding behaviors of water molecules in living cells will provide important clues to solve the complex nature of life.

Metals likely promoted protometabolism in early ocean alkaline hydrothermal systems

“…1A) ( 1 , 2 ). Considering the ubiquity of sulfide deposits in the present-day and the early ocean hydrothermal environments ( 3 ), together with ever-existing redox disequilibrium between Earth’s surface and the interior ( 4 ), the geoelectrochemical systems must have occurred extensively on the seafloor throughout Earth’s history ( 5 ). We have previously demonstrated efficient CO 2 electroreduction to carbon monoxide (CO) on some metal sulfides (for example, CdS and Ag 2 S) simulating early ocean hydrothermal vent environments ( 6 ).…”

Oral Ingestion of Deep Ocean Minerals Increases High-Intensity Intermittent Running Capacity in Soccer Players after Short-Term Post-Exercise Recovery: A Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Crossover Trial

“…Hydrothermal systems in the deep ocean have been proposed to be among the most credible settings for the biological origins of life [1,2]. Indeed, such alkaline systems have been suggested as the source of the evolution of primordial metabolism [1,3]. The marine environment possesses a rich pool of bioactive ingredients with numerous purported health benefits [4].…”

Solar-driven chemistry: towards new catalytic solutions for a sustainable world

“…The low efficiency of natural photosynthesis is justified by the fact that solar energy conversion leads to chemically complex, highly organized molecules and macromolecules that are needed to feed our life. It is worth to underline that photosynthesis in the early stages of prebiotic reactions is an important area of fundamental investigation where the interaction of light with materials and small molecules plays an important role (Rapf and Vaida 2016;Nakashima et al 2018).…”