British chemists from University College London have succeeded in producing in the laboratory the chemical compound pantethine, which is considered a key element in the emergence of life on Earth. The study was published in the scientific journal magazine Science.
Pantethine serves as an active part of coenzyme A, which is involved in many biochemical reactions.
The first experiments on the synthesis of pantethine were carried out in 1995, but later researchers managed to obtain insignificant concentrations of the substance using processes that could not have occurred on the ancient Earth. This led scientists to suggest that pantethine did not play a role in the origin of life.
In the new study, the team was able to create sufficient concentrations of pantethine in room temperature water from hydrogen cyanide, which was abundant on Earth 4 billion years ago.
According to chemists, this discovery provides clues about the possible origins of life on Earth. Its cradle could be lakes and other bodies of water, but not oceans because the concentrations of chemicals in them were too high.
Previous scientists in the name Places on Mars where life may have existed in ancient times.