Scientists at Harvard University said that life on Earth did not arise in aqueous solution, but in formamide, a derivative of formic acid. Thus, the researchers plan to solve the paradox according to which water is an aggressive medium for molecules such as RNA, but at the same time is necessary for living organisms. The research, published in Scientific Reports, is briefly reported on Phys.org.
Formamide promotes the formation of long polymer chains to a greater extent than water, and itself can enter into chemical reactions with the formation of nucleotides, amino acids and other compounds important for life. However, formamide does not occur in large quantities in nature. Some of this compound could be found on meteorites and comets falling to Earth, but this was not enough for the appearance of life.
Researchers believe that in some places on ancient Earth, formamide could be synthesized naturally in relatively large volumes. It turned out that this compound is formed by irradiation of hydrogen cyanide and acetonitrile with ionizing radiation.
Deposits of radioactive minerals could become a source of gamma rays necessary for this. As a result, formamide could be formed in quantities that are about six orders of magnitude greater than the volumes that comets could provide.
