The birth of life on the early Earth

Abstract

Exobiology is a multidisciplinary science that deals with the origin and early evolution of life. For the birth of life to occur, the setting of its cosmic cradle has to be right. The first step is to make early seas and to buildup a benign greenhouse effect that prevents their freezing and/or boiling. Next, an efficient prebiotic chemistry has to operate in this water to synthesize the key macromolecules that could start dividing, thus giving the first sketch of life. This synthesis requires: energy; liquid water; salts like phosphate; organic molecules such as amino acids; mineral surfaces behaving like catalysts of their reaction; etc. © Springer 2006.