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The origin of the first living molecules on our planet has long been debated. However, recent experiments are revealing new information about the plausible conditions on the early Earth.

This research provides details on one of the major hypotheses concerning the emergence of life: the RNA world. It suggests that the necessary ingredients, combined with very common minerals and simple hydrological cycles, could have led to the assembly of ribonucleic acid.

Researchers reproduced a plausible environment of the Earth more than four billion years ago in the laboratory. To do this, they mixed the chemical precursors of RNA (namely ribose, a 5-carbon sugar, phosphate, and the four fundamental nucleobases: adenine, guanine, cytosine, and uracil) with specific compounds: borates, present in ancient oceans, and basalt, an ubiquitous volcanic rock.

This mixture was then subjected to repeated wet and dry cycles. These cycles were intended to replicate the transitions our planet experienced in the past near geothermal aquifers and subsurface areas. The team observed that this process allowed for the formation of RNA chains with no other human intervention than placing the ingredients in a test tube.

Cédric DEPOND
January 8, 2026
🌍 The origin of life on Earth could be much simpler than thought

Interesting. Besides the greater implications of the possibility of life spontaneously appearing with common chemicals and conditions, the ubiquitous basalt plays an important role.