An article published in the journal “Proceedings of the National Academy of Science” reports a study on carbonate-rich lakes as possible places where life on Earth originated. Jonathan Toner and David Catling of the University of Washington measured the concentration of phosphorus, an element crucial for various cellular processes, in carbonate-rich lakes, detecting phosphorus concentrations up to 50,000 times higher than those present in seawaters, in river waters and also in those of other lakes. The two researchers found a link between an abundance of carbonates and phosphorus, a discovery that offers a possible solution to the problem of the shortage of phosphorus in other possible places of origin of life.

An article published in the journal “Nature Ecology & Evolution” reports the creation of protocells in warm and alkaline salt water that replicate the conditions of the hydrothermal vents existing in deep seas. A team of researchers led by University College London (UCL) took a step forward in research into the origin of life on Earth by bringing new clues that hydrothermal vents are the place where the first life forms emerged. In fact, they proved the possible formation of protocells starting from compounds existing in that environment and in those environmental conditions.