Life's Origins: Micro-electric Discharges in Water Droplets May Hold the Key

A new theory from Stanford University suggests that life on Earth may have originated not from lightning strikes in the ocean, but from countless micro-electric discharges between water droplets in waterfalls and waves. Experiments involving electrical charges in fine water droplets resulted in the creation of organic molecules, including uracil, a building block of RNA, from a mixture of gases resembling Earth's early atmosphere. This challenges the Miller-Urey hypothesis, which posits that lightning strikes in primordial oceans created the first organic compounds. Researchers discovered that water droplets can build up and discharge electricity without external sources. These "miniature lightning" flashes, though invisible to the naked eye, possess enough energy to trigger chemical reactions. By mixing water mist with gases like nitrogen, methane, carbon dioxide, and ammonia, they formed molecules with carbon-nitrogen bonds, including hydrogen cyanide, glycine, and uracil. This suggests that the countless water droplets present on early Earth – in crevices, against rocks, near waterfalls, and in breaking waves – provided ample opportunities for these reactions to occur, potentially sparking the first life forms. The team is also exploring the influence of electrically charged mists on other reactions, such as ammonia and hydrogen peroxide production, highlighting the reactivity of water droplets.