{"id":205505,"date":"2021-03-18T19:00:57","date_gmt":"2021-03-18T16:00:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/a-lightning-strike-may-have-helped-spark-life-on-earth-heres-how\/"},"modified":"2021-03-18T19:00:57","modified_gmt":"2021-03-18T16:00:57","slug":"a-lightning-strike-may-have-helped-spark-life-on-earth-heres-how","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/a-lightning-strike-may-have-helped-spark-life-on-earth-heres-how\/","title":{"rendered":"#A lightning strike may have helped spark life on earth \u2014 here\u2019s how"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_84 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a26bb7e6f718\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a26bb7e6f718\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/a-lightning-strike-may-have-helped-spark-life-on-earth-heres-how\/#Our_study\" >Our study<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/a-lightning-strike-may-have-helped-spark-life-on-earth-heres-how\/#Life_on_exoplanets\" >Life on exoplanets<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<p>&#8220;<strong>#A lightning strike may have helped spark life on earth \u2014 here\u2019s how<\/strong>&#8221;<\/p>\n<div>\n                            The origin of life on Earth is one of the most complex puzzles facing scientists. It involves not only identifying the numerous chemical reactions that must take place to create a replicating organism, but also finding realistic sources for the ingredients needed for each of the reactions.<\/p>\n<p>One particular problem that has long-faced\u00a0scientists who study the origin of life is the source of the elusive element, phosphorus. Phosphorus is an important element for basic cell structures and functions. For example, it forms the backbone of the double helix structure of DNA and the related molecule RNA.<\/p>\n<p>Though the element was widespread, almost all phosphorus on the early Earth \u2013 around 4 billion years ago \u2013 was tr<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>ed in minerals that were essentially insoluble and unreactive. This means the phosphorus, while present in principle, was not available to make the compounds needed for life.<\/p>\n<p><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nature.com\/articles\/s41467-021-21849-2\">In a new paper<\/a>, we show lightning strikes would have provided a widespread source of phosphorus. This means lightning strikes may have helped spark life on Earth, and may be continuing to help life start on other Earth-like planets.<\/p>\n<p>One potential source of phosphorus on the early Earth is the unusual mineral schreibersite, which is found in <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.liebertpub.com\/doi\/10.1089\/ast.2005.5.515\">small amounts in meteorites<\/a>. Experiments have shown that <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1016\/j.gca.2006.12.018\">schreibersite can dissolve in water<\/a>, creating aqueous phosphorus which can react and form a variety of organic molecules important for life. Examples include <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nature.com\/articles\/srep17198\">nucleotides<\/a>, the building blocks of DNA and RNA, and <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1039\/C6CP00836D\">phosphocholine<\/a>, a precursor to the lipid molecules that make up the cell membrane.<\/p>\n<p>But there\u2019s another potential source for schreibersite. While studying a glass structure created by a lightning strike called a fulgurite, we found a substantial amount of the unusual phosphorus mineral inside the glass.<\/p>\n<p>If lightning strikes created a large amount of schreibersite, and other reactive phosphorus minerals, then lightning could be an alternate source of the reactive phosphorus needed for life.<\/p>\n<p>To determine if this was the case, we estimated the amount of phosphorus made available by lightning strikes from 4.5 billion years ago, when the Earth formed, to 3.5 billion years ago when we have the earliest fossil evidence of life.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"align-center \">\n<figure class=\"post-image post-mediaBleed aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" sizes=\"auto, (min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px\" alt=\"A fulgurite sample of glass on the ground.\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" class=\" lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/390106\/original\/file-20210317-13-w7kjwx.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip\" data-lazy=\"true\" srcset=\"https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/390106\/original\/file-20210317-13-w7kjwx.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=450&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 600w, https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/390106\/original\/file-20210317-13-w7kjwx.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=450&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1200w, https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/390106\/original\/file-20210317-13-w7kjwx.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=450&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 1800w, https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/390106\/original\/file-20210317-13-w7kjwx.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=566&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 754w, https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/390106\/original\/file-20210317-13-w7kjwx.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=566&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1508w, https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/390106\/original\/file-20210317-13-w7kjwx.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=566&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 2262w\"\/><figcaption><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/thenextweb.com\/science\/2021\/03\/18\/how-lightning-strike-helped-spark-life-earth-syndication\/#\" data-url=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Fthenextweb.com%2Fscience%2F2021%2F03%2F18%2Fhow-lightning-strike-helped-spark-life-earth-syndication%2F&amp;via=thenextweb&amp;related=thenextweb&amp;text=Check out this picture on: The fulgurite sample. Benjamin Hess, Author provided\" data-title=\"Share The fulgurite sample. Benjamin Hess, Author provided on Twitter\" data-width=\"685\" data-height=\"500\" class=\"post-image-share popitup\" title=\"Share The fulgurite sample. Benjamin Hess, Author provided on Twitter\"><i class=\"icon icon--inline icon--twitter--dark\"\/><\/a>The fulgurite sample. Benjamin Hess, Author provided<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Our_study\"><\/span>Our study<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>To do this, we needed to estimate three things: the number of fulgurites formed each year; how much phosphorus was in the rocks on early Earth; and how much of that phosphorus is turned into usable phosphorus, by the lightning strikes.<\/p>\n<p>Fulgurites form when lightning strikes the ground, so first, we needed to know how much lightning there was. To determine the amount of lightning, we looked at estimates of the amount of CO\u2082 in the atmosphere on early Earth and estimates of how much lightning there would be on Earth for different amounts of CO\u2082. The CO\u2082 in the atmosphere can be used to estimate global temperature, which is a key factor in controlling the frequency of thunderstorms.<\/p>\n<p>We found that, on early Earth, there would have ranged from 100 million to 1 billion lightning strikes a year, with each strike forming one fulgurite. In total, up to 1 quintillion (one followed by 18 zeroes) fulgurites would have formed in the first billion years of Earth\u2019s history.<\/p>\n<p>For the second factor, we know early Earth would have likely been dominated by rocks that are similar to the basalts that make up volcanic islands like Hawaii. We used the phosphorus content in some of these <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1016\/S0009-2541(01)00363-1\">preserved rocks<\/a> that are over 3.5 billion years old to determine an average phosphorus content.<\/p>\n<p>Finally, we used our fulgurite and other published fulgurite studies to estimate how much schreibersite, or similar forms of phosphorus, would have been made available by lightning strikes.<\/p>\n<p>Combining all these factors we calculated lightning strikes made upwards of 10,000kg of phosphorus available for organic reactions every year.<\/p>\n<p>Based on the best of our knowledge of early Earth, lightning probably provided as much reactive phosphorus as meteorites did around the time of the origin of life, approximately 3.5 billion years ago. Therefore, lightning strikes, along with meteorite impacts, very likely provided the phosphorus needed for the emergence of life on Earth.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Life_on_exoplanets\"><\/span>Life on exoplanets<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Our research also highlights a new source of the phosphorus needed for life to emerge on other Earth-like planets.<\/p>\n<p>Lightning strikes are a more sustainable source of phosphorus than meteorite impacts. The abundance of large meteorites in a solar system decreases exponentially over time as the leftover material in the system collides with planets.<\/p>\n<p>So, while meteorites provide substantial usable phosphorus for life early in a planet\u2019s history, they decrease fairly rapidly in abundance. Lightning strikes, however, are relatively constant through time.<\/p>\n<p>Our work helps expand the conditions in which life can form on other planets in our solar system and beyond. If any planet has an active, lightning-rich atmosphere, then the phosphorus needed for life will be available any time.<!-- Below is The Conversation's page counter tag. Please DO NOT REMOVE. --><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important; text-shadow: none !important;\" alt=\"The Conversation\" width=\"1\" height=\"1\" class=\" lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/counter.theconversation.com\/content\/157343\/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic\" data-lazy=\"true\"\/><\/p>\n<p><em>This article by\u00a0<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/profiles\/benjamin-hess-1218953\">Benjamin Hess<\/a>, PhD Candidate, Earth &amp; Planetary <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/sciencee\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"5\" title=\"Science\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Science<\/a>s, <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/institutions\/yale-university-1326\">Yale University<\/a>; <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/profiles\/jason-harvey-1218955\">Jason Harvey<\/a>, Associate Professor of Geochemistry, <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/institutions\/university-of-leeds-1122\">University of Leeds<\/a>, and <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/profiles\/sandra-piazolo-1218954\">Sandra Piazolo<\/a>, Professor in Structural Geology and Tectonics, <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/institutions\/university-of-leeds-1122\">University of Leeds<\/a>is republished from <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\">The Conversation<\/a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/origin-of-life-lightning-strikes-may-have-provided-missing-ingredient-for-earths-first-organisms-157343\">original article<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"post-article-read-next\">\n    <b>Read next:<\/b><\/p>\n<p>        Mars rover captures mysterious &#8216;scratching noise&#8217; during drive across the red planet    <\/p><\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. 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It involves not only identifying the numerous chemical reactions that must take place to create a replicating organism, but also finding realistic sources for the ingredients needed&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":205506,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/img-cdn.tnwcdn.com\/image\/tnw?filter_last=1&fit=1280,640&url=https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2021\/03\/1-copy-36.jpg&signature=96a6ba8931449543391dc5294d5e6bbd","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[74503,73133,72695,67821],"class_list":["post-205505","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-technology","tag-earth","tag-organism","tag-white-phosphorus","tag-world"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/205505","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=205505"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/205505\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/205506"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=205505"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=205505"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=205505"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}