Urea was the protagonist of the origin of life on Earth, according to Swiss researchers

A group of scientists of various universities The Swiss have developed a system for observing chemical reactions on a very small scale with which they have been able to confirm that urea played an essential role in the appearance of the life on earth.

Urea is a chemical compound that contains carbon and hydrogen and is found in substances such as urine, sweat, or fecal matter.

According to experts from the University of Geneva and the Federal Polytechnic School of Zurich, cosmic rays would have acted on the urea that was present in the pools of hot water prior to the origin of planetary life.

In this “primal soup”, urea, subjected to radiation, would have produced malonic acid, one of the main sources of RNA and DNA.

To test this hypothesis – raised for several decades – the Swiss experts developed a spectroscopic observation method, with which they were able to observe a series of chemical reactions with a very high image definition.

Using infrared technology, experts have been able to examine changes that occur at the molecular level in a few femtoseconds (billionths of a second).

In addition, to be able to examine these reactions in liquids, the scientists designed a device that can expel a very fine jet of water to observe the response of urea under different pressure conditions.

The co-directors of the project believe that the key to studying the long series of chemical reactions that influenced the development of the first forms of life lies in the action of ionizing rays.

“We discovered that ionizing radiation causes a hydrogen atom within each pair of urea molecules to move from one particle to another”explained Professor Hans Jakob Wörner of the Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich in a press release.

It is precisely in the middle of this tiny reaction where a series of chemical reactions could have taken place that culminated in the formation of malonic acid, present in DNA and RNA.

According to the researchers, the role of urea in the formation of life had not been confirmed until now because this reaction occurs so quickly that it exceeds all established theories.

This new instrument for observing chemical reactions in liquids on such a tiny scale could contribute to the development of new medicines or to the solar energy harvesting industry.

Source: EFE