Star clusters like NGC 3603 provide important clues to understanding the origin of massive star formations in the early, distant universe. (NASA)

Altering our sense of place with the science of the origins of life

Life’s complexity is a product of evolution. Achieving a greater understanding of life’s origins through interdisciplinary research will help reveal biological possibilities, suggest medical innovations, and illuminate cosmic history and our place within it, the 2024 GESDA Science Breakthrough Radar® says.

By John Heilprin

March 12, 2025

Research into the origins of life cuts across scientific fields such as biology, chemistry, geology and cosmology. By mapping connections between the crucial features of living organisms, development of prebiotic chemistry and conditions of early Earth, the Radar says, scientists can better hypothesize how life emerged. One significant limitation is the poor geological record of Earth’s early history.

The Radar emphasizes that advancements needed to improve our understanding of geological conditions, such as temperature ranges and the chemical composition of ancient oceans and atmospheres, will be critical in evaluating plausible scenarios for the origins of life. As a result, researchers are collaborating across fields, integrating theories and methodologies to move beyond traditional divides such as the RNA world hypothesis versus the metabolism-first approach. The aim is a more cohesive understanding of life’s origins.

Enhanced techniques are emerging to analyze geological records, which may reveal when and how life was formed. Improvements in geological evidence gathering and synthetic biology tools hold promise for reconstructing ancient life. Complex systems of chemical interactions, using advanced analytics to observe how mixtures of chemicals can lead to life-like behaviors, may mimic early biological processes.

When life began on Earth, phosphorus was needed to synthesize universal biomolecules, but it’s not yet clear if prebiotic phosphorus uptake would have been sustainable. Phosphorus plays a key role in the genetics and energy systems of all living cells. In February, a new study in Science Advances showed large closed-basin lakes can combine phosphorus at steady state with high rates of biological productivity.

Researchers from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich, University of Cambridge, and University of Science and Technology of China, said their case study of Mono Lake in California showed “such lakes should have readily formed on the heavily cratered and volcanically active surface of early Earth.”

Barbara Sherwood Lollar, a geologist who is renowned for her research into ancient waters and the deep subsurface biosphere, said recent discoveries have shown that underground microbes can live around the hydrothermal vents found in the ocean floor and in continental rocks several kilometers deep, and they do not rely on sunlight for energy because they can feed off reactions between the water and the rock.

“What we’ve in fact now found is that even one, two, three and four kilometers deep, about 40% of the Earth’s water cycle is actually trapped in the deep Earth and does not return to the surface on short time cycles,” Sherwood Lollar, a professor at the University of Toronto, Canada, told the 2024 GESDA Summit.

Investigating that ancient water, which can be thousands, millions or even a billion years old, and is now referred to as a hidden hydrogeosphere, leads to unanswered questions such as “did the origin of life actually occur on the surface of the planet in a warm little pond like Charles Darwin envisaged?” she said. “Or could it be equally possible that the origin of life took place in a warm little fracture, isolated from what was a really hostile environment on our planet four billion years ago when life first arose?”

Professor Barbara Sherwood presents her “Origins of Life” anticipatory briefing at the 2024 GESDA Summit (©GESDA/von Loebell)

 

Life beyond photosynthesis brings more questions and opportunities

The first known kinds of multicellular organisms, three distinct species of a tiny phylum called Loricifera, were found by Danish and Italian researchers in 2010 living oxygen free beneath sediment known as a deep hypersaline anoxic basin in the Mediterranean Sea’s L’Atalante basin. The only life previously known to live exclusively in anoxic conditions were single-celled organisms like prokaryotes and protozoa.

Several new chlamydia-related species were found by Swedish researchers in 2020 living without oxygen or host organisms in sediment near a high-temperature hydrothermal system deep beneath the Arctic Ocean between Iceland, mainland Norway and the Norwegian Svalbard islands to the north.

Samples from sediments of the polymetallic nodule-covered abyssal seafloor in the Pacific Ocean suggested that oxygen may be produced without the need for life at depths where light cannot reach, a team of U.K., U.S. and German researchers reported in a study last year. They said “dark” oxygen was increasing, not decreasing, in the presence of mineral concentrates and deposits of metals through which an electrical current might pass to allow electrolysis to separate the hydrogen and oxygen from water.

“Many of the organisms are genetically similar to what’s found on Earth, but many are entirely novel. And, in particular, we see extremophiles – organisms living at extremes of subtemperature, pressure and salinity,” said Sherwood Lollar. “These are exciting, not only in terms of changing our understanding of the full biodiversity and capacity of life on our planet, but they also have very practical applications.”

Extremophiles that can function at high temperature ranges are of great interest to researchers looking at how to improve vaccines that require a narrow range of temperatures during storage and transport so they won’t overheat and become ineffective. They also are of interest to researchers of outer space who are studying planets where photosynthesis might never have developed, Sherwood Lollar said, because it means there could still be “a mechanism by which those planets might someday be habitable.”

These advancements are significant not only for understanding our own origins, but also for broader implications in fields such as medicine, cosmology and astrobiology. Experts believe we can expect breakthroughs soon. Over the next five years, continued integration is expected, with synthetic biology driving innovations in organism design, including applications in food and pharmaceuticals. The essence of life may be studied through experimental models that regenerate tissues or mimic cellular behaviors.

Within a decade, significant improvements in DNA and RNA synthesis are anticipated, making these processes cheaper and more accessible. Hybrid technologies, such as brainoid-machine interfaces, may emerge, combining biological systems with computational technologies. A quarter-century from now we may enter an era of hybrid intelligence, with biological and artificial intelligence systems collaborating. This could revolutionize education, enhance cognitive functions, and enable more innovative solutions.

Here are some more potential applications:

Biosensing technologies: Research on the origins of life can inform the development of advanced biosensors that can detect pathogens, toxins, and gases. These biosensors leverage the ability of biological systems to pick up signals and amplify them, allowing for real-time monitoring of health and safety in various environments.

Energy efficiency and sustainability: By improving enzymatic processes discovered through origins-of-life research, we may develop ways to carry out chemical reactions at lower temperatures and pressures, reducing energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions.

Exploration of other worlds: Insights gained from studying the origins of life on Earth could guide our search for life on other planets. Understanding potential biochemical pathways could inform missions to Mars or the icy moons of Jupiter and Saturn, enhancing our search for extraterrestrial life.

Health care innovations: In addition to new therapies, exploring the origins of life can lead to innovations such as autonomous biological robots capable of performing tasks like cleaning up toxic environments or delivering medications within the human body.

Living therapeutics: Discovering how life arose might help create engineered probiotics or therapeutic cells that can actively deliver medicines within the body. These living therapeutics could enhance treatment adherence, combat antimicrobial resistance, and offer sustainable agricultural alternatives to chemical fertilizers and pesticides.

Synthetic biology: By understanding how life began, scientists can engineer microorganisms, such as bacteria or yeast, to act as “factories” that produce valuable chemicals and materials. This includes pharmaceuticals, biofuels, and biodegradable materials. Such technologies can be more energy-efficient and environmentally friendly than traditional manufacturing processes.

Where the science and diplomacy can take us

The 2024 GESDA Science Breakthrough Radar®, distilling the insights of 2,100 scientists from 87 countries, says research into the origins of life not only deepens our philosophical understanding of our place in the universe but also opens doors to new technologies and practical applications in fields such as biology, medicine, and space exploration.

The findings in the 2024 Science Breakthrough Radar®

Based on the Radar, here’s where we stand in several important areas:

5.3 Science of the origins of life – Radar, page 278

There is no settled theoretical framework for studies of the origins of life. A recent proposal called Assembly Theory, for instance, has not yet achieved widespread acceptance. Understanding the origins of life is of practical and philosophical interest. The field has the potential to enhance physics, biology and medicine, and could help us better understand humanity’s place and role in the universe.

5.3.1 Prebiotic chemistry – Radar, page 280

Making the chemical building blocks of life in a way that is “prebiotically plausible” — likely to have occurred naturally on Earth — is a central pillar of the research being conducted in this area. This century, there has been considerable success in obtaining multiple biochemicals, relevant to different aspects of the living organism, from the same feedstock and environment.

5-year horizon: Automation begins to pay off
10-year horizon: Chemical computation becomes possible
25-year horizon: Predictions of life-like chemistry becomes possible

5.3.2 Systems biology – Radar, page 281

Any investigation of how life originated aims to conceive and create simplified versions of living systems that are self-sustaining. This requires the tools of systems biology, where living organisms are understood as networks of chemicals and systems. Systems biology treats life as a complex system of interacting nodes, each with its own properties, and aims for a holistic and computational level of understanding.

5-year horizon: Evidence of primordial metabolic processes arises
10-year horizon: Extinct biomolecules are reconstructed
25-year horizon: Models of the last universal common ancestor (LUCA) brings benefits

5.3.3 The geological record – Radar, page 282

Most of the oldest rocks on Earth were destroyed or altered by geological processes like tectonic shift, obscuring the geological record for the first billion years of Earth’s 4.5-billion-year history. The earliest confirmed fossil organisms that have been found are 3.5 billion years old. All we know is that life arose during a 1-billion-year window — about twice as long as complex animals have existed.

5-year horizon: Criteria for assessment of evidence for life is developed
10-year horizon: Earth’s formation is better understood
25-year horizon: Origin of Earth’s water clarified

5.3.4 Exobiology – Radar, page 283

There is no solid evidence of life or fossil life on other worlds in the solar system, let alone on exoplanets in other solar systems. That may change as we continue exploring. Even if no living organisms are found elsewhere, our investigations will shed light on prebiotic chemistry and primordial geochemistry. Mars and the moons Europa, Enceladus and Titan all had environmental conditions similar to parts of Earth.

5-year horizon: Mars gives clues to Earth-like prebiotic chemistry
10-year horizon: Solvents for life are better understood
25-year horizon: Mars sample return planned