Early metabolism reveals dual origins of life on Earth
TL;DR
Researchers mapped the full early metabolism network (420 reactions) and found that bacteria and archaea likely shifted to free-living cells independently, with LUCA possessing only about half of metabolic reactions while the rest were catalyzed by environmental metals; the study suggests a hybrid early metabolism combining metal catalysts and enzymes and proposes a pre-ATP energy source via phosphite reacting with palladium in hydrothermal-vent environments.
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- A New Study Points to Two Origins of Life on Earth by Tracing Early Chemical Reactions in Single-Celled Organisms Smithsonian Magazine
- Did Cellular Life Begin Twice? New Study Points to Two Independent Origins scitechdaily.com
- Enzymes in Bacteria and Archaea Are So Dissimilar There Must Be “Two Origins of Life” Science and Culture Today
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