Abstract
Biomolecules can be synthesized in interstellar ice grains subject to UV radiation and cosmic rays. I show that on time scales of ≳106 years, these processes lead to the formation of large percolation clusters of organic molecules. Some of these clusters would have ended up on proto-planets where large, loosely bound aggregates of clusters (superclusters) would have formed. The interior regions of such superclusters provided for chemical micro-environments that are filtered versions of the outside environment.I argue that models for abiogenesis are more likely to work when considered inside such micro-environments. As the supercluster breaks up, biochemical systems in such micro-environments gradually become subject to a less filtered environment, allowing them to get adapted to the more complex outside environment. A particular system originating from a particular location on some supercluster would have been the first to get adapted to the raw outside environment and survive there, thereby becoming the first microbe.A collision of a microbe-containing proto-planet with the Moon could have led to fragments veering off back into space, microbes in small fragments would have been able to survive a subsequent impact with the Earth.
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.