Earth sciences Swiss researchers discover new clues to the origin of life
Life on Earth could have originated four billion years ago in large soda lakes. This has been shown by researchers at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (ETH Zurich) in a new study.
25.03.2025, 09:42
SDA
Sufficient phosphorus is needed for life to develop. Phosphorus, for example, is a component of DNA, the genetic material. However, this element is in short supply, as ETH Zurich explained in a press release on Tuesday. This was already the case at the time when life originated.
Scientists therefore wondered how and where such high concentrations of phosphorus occurred on Earth billions of years ago. ETH researchers have a new answer: large soda lakes without natural drainage. Such lakes only release water through evaporation. As a result, the phosphorus remains in the water instead of being carried away by rivers and streams. This has allowed very high phosphorus concentrations to build up in these soda lakes.
No small ponds
As early as 2020, researchers at the University of Washington in the USA pointed out that soda lakes could be the cradle of life. Researchers at ETH Zurich have now taken a closer look at this theory. Not every soda lake is suitable. In small soda lakes, the phosphorus supply would run out faster than it is replenished as soon as life begins to develop in them, explained Craig Walton, first author of the study, according to the press release.
The researchers assume that life evolved in such large bodies of water rather than in small ponds, as Charles Darwin had suspected.
The results of the study were published in the journal Science Advances.
