Microlightning from water droplets may have sparked life on Earth – Earth.com

Life on Earth may not have begun with a dramatic lightning strike into the ocean. Instead, tiny microlightning charges from crashing waterfalls and breaking waves might have played a crucial role.​New research from Stanford University suggests that water droplets, when sprayed into a mix of gases found in early Earth’s atmosphere, can create organic molecules. Among them is uracil, a key component of DNA and RNA.​The findings add another layer to the long-debated Miller-Urey hypothesis. Proposed in the 1950s, the theory suggests that lightning interacting with a gas mixture could generate organic molecules.The new study, published in Science Advances, offers an alternative explanation: water spray itself can generate the necessary reactions without external electricity.Scientists found that when water droplets divide, they develop opposing charges. Larger droplets carry positive charges, while smaller ones become negative. When these oppositely charged droplets move close together, sparks fly between them. This process, termed “microlightning” by the researchers, mimics how lightning forms in clouds.Richard Zare, the Marguerite Blake Wilbur Professor of Natural Science and professor of chemistry at Stanford’s School of Humanities and Sciences, co-authored the study.“Microelectric discharges between oppositely charged water microdroplets make all the organic molecules observed previously in the Miller-Urey experiment, and we propose that this is a new mechanism for the prebiotic synthesis of molecules that constitute the building blocks of life,” said Zare.For billions of years, Earth had a rich mixture of chemicals but lacked organic molecules with carbon-nitrogen bonds. These bonds are essential for proteins, nucleic acids, and other key biological structures. The Miller-Urey experiment suggested that lightning striking the ocean could have formed these molecules. However, some scientists argue that lightning was too rare and the ocean too vast for this to be the main source.Zare and his team offer a different perspective. Their experiments showed that microlightning could produce key organic molecules. They sprayed room-temperature water into a gas mixture containing nitrogen, methane, carbon dioxide, and ammonia. The result was the formation of organic compounds, including hydrogen cyanide, glycine, and uracil.Instead of rare lightning strikes, microlightning may have been a more frequent and reliable energy source. Waves crashing against rocks, waterfalls spraying mist, and other natural processes could have provided a constant supply of tiny sparks, triggering chemical reactions necessary for life.“On early Earth, there were water sprays all over the place – into crevices or against rocks, and they can accumulate and create this chemical reaction,” Zare said. “I think this overcomes many of the problems people have with the Miller-Urey hypothesis.”Zare’s team has explored other surprising properties of water droplets. Their research includes studying how water vapor may help produce ammonia, a key ingredient in fertilizer, and how tiny water droplets can spontaneously generate hydrogen peroxide.“We usually think of water as so benign, but when it’s divided in the form of little droplets, water is highly reactive,” Zare said.This new research shifts the focus from dramatic lightning bolts to the quiet but powerful chemistry of water droplets. The findings open new possibilities for understanding how life began – not with a single strike, but with countless tiny sparks.The discovery of microlightning as a potential source of organic molecules offers a fresh take on one of science’s biggest mysteries. It suggests that instead of relying on rare and dramatic events, life may have emerged from small but constant processes.By shifting the focus from massive lightning storms to tiny sparks within water droplets, this research presents a more practical and widespread explanation for the formation of life’s essential components. Rather than a single, extraordinary moment, life may have emerged through countless tiny reactions occurring over time.This idea not only deepens our understanding of how life began on Earth but also expands the search for life beyond our planet. If tiny sparks in water droplets can create organic molecules here, similar processes might be taking place on distant worlds with liquid water.As scientists continue to explore the origins of life, the smallest elements of nature may hold the biggest answers. The research from Stanford University serves as a reminder that life’s beginnings might not have been marked by a single, powerful event but by a series of small, persistent sparks shaping the path forward.The study is published in the journal Science Advances.—–Like what you read? Subscribe to our newsletter for engaging articles, exclusive content, and the latest updates.Check us out on EarthSnap, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.—–

Source: https://www.earth.com/news/microlightning-from-water-droplets-may-have-sparked-life-on-earth/