A review of the mechanisms of mineral-based metabolism in early Earth analog rock-hosted hydrothermal ecosystems
Sign Up to like & getrecommendations! Published in 2019 at "World Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology"
DOI: 10.1007/s11274-019-2604-2
Abstract: Prior to the advent of oxygenic photosynthesis ~ 2.8–3.2 Ga, life was dependent on chemical energy captured from oxidation–reduction reactions involving minerals or substrates generated through interaction of water with minerals. Terrestrial hydrothermal environments host abundant and… read more here.
Keywords: terrestrial hydrothermal; metabolism; mechanisms mineral; hydrothermal environments ... See more keywords
Constraints on early Earth's water budget from the evolution of the lunar hydrogen cycle
Sign Up to like & getrecommendations! Published in 2021 at "Global and Planetary Change"
DOI: 10.1016/j.gloplacha.2020.103393
Abstract: Abstract During the Hadean, Earth recovered from the Moon-forming giant impact, became covered with liquid water oceans, and witnessed the onset of plate tectonics and life. Quantifying the abundances, distribution, and chemical states of water… read more here.
Keywords: hydrogen; moon; water; cycle ... See more keywords
Did Bacterial Enzymes Cap the Oxygen in Early Earth’s Atmosphere?
Sign Up to like & getrecommendations! Published in 2019 at "Eos"
DOI: 10.1029/2019eo134065
Abstract: A new theory suggests that nitrogenase from cyanobacteria could be the reason oxygen levels remained low after the Great Oxidation Event. read more here.
Keywords: bacterial enzymes; early earth; cap oxygen; oxygen early ... See more keywords
Mimicking the surface and prebiotic chemistry of early Earth using flow chemistry
Sign Up to like & getrecommendations! Published in 2018 at "Nature Communications"
DOI: 10.1038/s41467-018-04147-2
Abstract: When considering life’s aetiology, the first questions that must be addressed are “how?” and “where?” were ostensibly complex molecules, considered necessary for life’s beginning, constructed from simpler, more abundant feedstock molecules on primitive Earth. Previously,… read more here.
Keywords: flow chemistry; mimicking surface; prebiotic chemistry; chemistry ... See more keywords
Lightning strikes as a major facilitator of prebiotic phosphorus reduction on early Earth
Sign Up to like & getrecommendations! Published in 2021 at "Nature Communications"
DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-21849-2
Abstract: When hydrated, phosphides such as the mineral schreibersite, (Fe,Ni)3P, allow for the synthesis of important phosphorus-bearing organic compounds. Such phosphides are common accessory minerals in meteorites; consequently, meteorites are proposed to be a main source… read more here.
Keywords: phosphorus reduction; source; phosphorus; early earth ... See more keywords
A seawater-sulfate origin for early Earth’s volcanic sulfur
Sign Up to like & getrecommendations! Published in 2020 at "Nature Geoscience"
DOI: 10.1038/s41561-020-0601-6
Abstract: Mass-independent fractionation of sulfur isotopes (MIF-S)—as recorded primarily in pre-2.5 billion years ago (Ga) sedimentary rocks—has been interpreted as evidence of photolysis of volcanic SO2 in an anoxic troposphere. Here, I present thermodynamic and kinetic… read more here.
Keywords: seawater; sedimentary rocks; sulfate; early earth ... See more keywords
Early earth geodynamics: cross examining the geological testimony
Sign Up to like & getrecommendations! Published in 2018 at "Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences"
DOI: 10.1098/rsta.2018.0169
Abstract: Many studies link the presence of continents on Earth to the operation of plate tectonics. Radiogenic isotope data have, however, long consigned the bulk of crust generation and preservation to the murky realm of the… read more here.
Keywords: geodynamics cross; plate tectonics; early earth; earth geodynamics ... See more keywords
Relatively oxidized fluids fed Earth’s earliest hydrothermal systems
Sign Up to like & getrecommendations! Published in 2023 at "Science"
DOI: 10.1126/science.adc8751
Abstract: The properties of high-temperature lithospheric fluids within the early Earth are poorly known, yet many origin-of-life scenarios depend upon their characteristics. These fluids represent a key communication pathway between Earth’s interior and hydrothermal pools. We… read more here.
Keywords: early earth; oxidized fluids; relatively oxidized; chemistry ... See more keywords
A window into prebiotic worlds?
Sign Up to like & getrecommendations! Published in 2023 at "Science"
DOI: 10.1126/science.adg2630
Abstract: Description Zircon s reveal the geochemistry of Earth’s earliest hydrothermal systems To search for life on other worlds, understanding the prebiotic chemistry of those worlds is necessary (1). However, to know which organic compounds form… read more here.
Keywords: early earth; geochemistry; prebiotic worlds; life ... See more keywords
An overview of experimental simulations of microbial activity in early Earth
Sign Up to like & getrecommendations! Published in 2023 at "Frontiers in Microbiology"
DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2022.1052831
Abstract: Microbial activity has shaped the evolution of the ocean and atmosphere throughout the Earth history. Thus, experimental simulations of microbial metabolism under the environment conditions of the early Earth can provide vital information regarding biogeochemical… read more here.
Keywords: early earth; simulations microbial; microbial activity; experimental simulations ... See more keywords
Results of an Eight-Year Extraction of Phosphorus Minerals within the Seymchan Meteorite
Sign Up to like & getrecommendations! Published in 2022 at "Life"
DOI: 10.3390/life12101591
Abstract: Simple Summary Phosphorus (P) is essential to life in the form of various phosphate esters that make up DNA, RNA and other cellular structures. It mainly exists in the form of phosphate. However, other reduced-oxidation-state… read more here.
Keywords: early earth; seymchan meteorite; phosphorus; water ... See more keywords