Life on Earth can be derived from cyanide

It may seem odd, but cyanide may be an important component in the origin of life on earth according to a new study. The researchers found that a mixture of cyanide and copper, when irradiated with ultraviolet (UV) light, could produce simple sugars, which make up the masses of life for their planets. me.

Harvard University Zoe Todd said: "To create something like a nucleotide RNA, you need specific sugars. The study published in the Royal Society of Chemistry magazine says this process has can happen on the first earth ".

An important step showed that this hypothesis could appear in 2012, when scientists in the UK demonstrated that the system could produce simple sugars like glycolaldehyde and glyceraldehyde. These tests are performed under ideal conditions with relatively high cyanide and copper concentrations, and powerful bulbs that produce 254nm wavelength light with high energy levels. However, previous studies have shown that the Earth has experienced a series of effects from shorter wavelengths characteristic on the surface.

Todd and Dimitar Sasselov, a Harvard professor, checked the issue under those conditions.

They combine a small amount of cyanide and copper in a sealed quartz barrel and then use low-intensity light rays from the xenon lamp to adjust. By using a prism, Todd can separate light into different wavelengths and target specific wavelengths for hours before testing to confirm how the reaction takes place.

Todd said that researchers could use this system to simulate whether the reaction could work on other planets, by adjusting the system based on specific conditions to know which How are molecules in the atmosphere and how intense UV rays are emitted by nearby stars?