Possibilities for methanogenic and acetogenic life in molecular cloud
Abstrak
According to panspermia, life on Earth may have originated from life forms transported through space from elsewhere. These life forms could have passed through molecular clouds, where the process of methanogenesis could have provided enough energy to sustain living organisms. In this study, we have calculated the Gibbs free energy released from synthesizing hydrocarbons for methanogenic (acetogenic) life in a molecular cloud, with methane (acetic acid) as the final metabolic product. Our calculations demonstrate that the chemical reactions during methanogenesis can release enough free energy to support living organisms. The methanogenic life may have served as the predecessor of life on Earth, and there is some preliminary evidence from various molecular biology studies to support this idea. Furthermore, we propose a potential distinguishing signal to test our model.
Topik & Kata Kunci
Penulis (1)
Lei Feng
Akses Cepat
- Tahun Terbit
- 2023
- Bahasa
- en
- Sumber Database
- arXiv
- Akses
- Open Access ✓