‘Microlightning’ May Have Sparked Life on Earth, New Research Suggests

While the origin of life on Earth is still up for debate, the Miller-Urey hypothesis suggests that a strike of lightning into ocean water mixed with inorganic gases may have triggered the formation of the first organic molecules. Critics of this hypothesis argue that the oceans were—and still are—too vast, and lightning too infrequent, for this explanation to be plausible. New research, however, suggests a solution to these discrepancies: microlightning. Researchers at Stanford University have demonstrated that the electrical charge generated by spraying or splashing water can trigger chemical reactions with inorganic gases that create organic molecules. A study published on March 12 in Science Advances offers a new perspective on the Miller-Urey hypothesis, proposing that, instead of a large lightning strike, life may have originated from numerous tiny “microlightnings” between water droplets. In the first couple billion years of Earth’s existence, scientists believe our planet lack ... Read full article.