When these conditions were recreated in a lab at the University of Chicago, US, in 1953, scientists were able to find that 20 different amino acids had formed. These gases can still yield amino acids, but in greatly reduced quantities. To understand this, Airapetian, Kobayashi, and their collaborators created a mixture of gases matching early Earth's atmosphere as we understand it today. Protons also tended to produce more carboxylic acids (a precursor of amino acids) than those ignited by spark discharges. These experiments suggested our active young Sun could have catalysed the precursors of life more easily, and perhaps earlier, than previously assumed.

Source: The Hindu May 06, 2023 15:19 UTC