Origin of Life Hypothesis
There are many theories pertaining to the formation of initial terrestrial life. Just one of these many theories hypothesizes that early life may have been facilitated in a hydrothermal vent environment. Before hydrothermal vent discovery in 1979, scientists believed life was impossible in the deep ocean. Discovery of vent life, especially chemosynthetic microorganisms, led to the development of several new hypothesis. It is theorized that the building blocks of life, such as nucleotides or amino acids, could have formed in a temperature gradient between the extremely hot and cold waters. It is believed that the early ocean was acidic in nature, brimming with positively charged protons. Hydrothermal vents could have produced an abundance of negatively charged hydroxide ions. The interaction among the differing ionic charges and temperatures could possibly have acted as a means of generating basic amino acids and proteins. This would have possibly led to the eventual development of ribonucleic acids and cellular membranes. Over a long period of time, these basic, single-cellular organisms could potentially have developed membranous sodium pumps in order to create their own energy.
While extremely fascinating, this hypothesis is merely speculative and has yet to undergo extensive testing.
While extremely fascinating, this hypothesis is merely speculative and has yet to undergo extensive testing.