Sterile Dirt Hints at Life’s Metabolic Beginnings
A six-year study of irradiated, life-free soil shows ongoing CO2 release and oxygen consumption, plus measurable electron flow and Krebs-cycle intermediates, suggesting metal- and mineral-catalyzed, metabolism-like chemistry can occur outside living cells and may predate life; while these findings support a geology-driven view of metabolism, the possibility that residual enzymes could contribute cannot be completely ruled out.