Scientists from Yale University in the USA and the University of Leeds in the UK have found that the emergence of life on Earth could have been triggered by a huge number of lightning strikes. After that, the necessary phosphorus compounds appeared to support life on Earth. The results of scientific work are published in the journal Nature Communications.
Phosphorus is a key component of DNA, RNA and lipids of cell membranes, therefore, without this compound, life on Earth would have been impossible. In this case, phosphorus must be in a reactive, soluble form. Schreibersite meets this condition. This mineral was found in the composition of meteorites, so until now scientists believed that phosphorus came to our planet during the fall of the meteorite.
However, new research has helped identify an alternative source of schreibersite. The authors of the work studied fulgurites, which are rocks sintered from a lightning strike and found schreibersite in them in the form of glassy formations.
According to the calculations of researchers, from 100 million to one billion lightning strikes the Earth’s surface in the early stages of the planet’s development, as a result, from 110 to 11,000 kilograms of reactive phosphorus were formed per year. Scientists believe that this amount was sufficient to support the first life forms. writes the website of the Russian TV channel “Zvezda”.
In addition, the authors of the scientific work believe that the presence of electrical discharges in the atmosphere of other planets may be one of the signs indicating the potential existence of life.