达尔文关于地球上生命起源的观点可能是错误的

达尔文关于地球上生命起源的观点可能是错误的

While there are certainly varying beliefs on how life on how life emerged on our planet, the scientific consensus has long been the most humbling one: Around 4 billion years ago, our ancestors were simple molecules swishing around in a primordial soup.

尽管关于生命是如何在我们的星球上出现的存在着各种各样的观点，但科学界的共识一直是最令人羞愧的:大约40亿年前，我们的祖先只是在原始汤里四处游动的简单分子。

Science has long held that life originated from shallow pools of water that contained just the right ingredients for life. (Photo: Courtney D'Angelico/Shutterstock)

That broth had just the right ingredients — methane, ammonia water, a dash of energizing lightning — to nurture the earliest organic compounds. At one point, the soup overflowed from shallow ponds and the chemistry of life, in its simplest form, spilled forth and multiplied.

那锅肉汤的成分恰到好处——甲烷、氨水、少量的闪电能量——用来培育最早的有机化合物。在某一时刻，汤从浅水池塘溢出，生命的化学物质以最简单的形式扩散并繁殖。

At least, that's been the narrative for the last century or so — a theory first suggested by famed naturalist Charles Darwin and refined decades later by scientists A.I. Oparin and J.B.S. Haldane.

至少在上个世纪左右的时间里是这样的——这个理论最初是由著名的自然学家查尔斯·达尔文提出的，几十年后由科学家ai·奥帕林和J.B.S.霍尔丹完善。

We've been debating and frequently disagreeing over that hypothesis ever since.

从那以后，我们就一直在争论这个假设，而且常常不同意。

With details from 4 billion years ago being a bit sketchy, it's understandable that Darwin — and the scientists who came after him — dangle such a resounding "if" in front of the theory.

由于40亿年前的细节有些粗略，所以达尔文——以及他之后的科学家们——在这个理论面前抛出一个响亮的“如果”是可以理解的。

And scientists from University College London made the origin of life in those shallows an even iffier proposition.

来自伦敦大学学院的科学家们提出了一个更模糊的命题:这些浅滩的生命起源。

According to their study, published this month in the journal Nature Ecology & Evolution, life may have sprung from a perfectly cooked soup, but the pot wasn't a "warm pond" after all.

根据他们本月发表在《自然生态与进化》杂志上的研究，生命可能来自一碗煮得很好的汤，但这个锅毕竟不是一个“温暖的池塘”。

Rather, life may have sprung from the deepest trenches of the ocean, specifically heated fissures on the seafloor in volcanically active regions.

确切地说，生命可能是从海洋最深处的海沟中产生的，这些海沟是火山活动区域中海底的特别炽热的裂缝。

Those hydrothermal vents may have been the real cradle of life.

这些热液喷口可能是真正的生命摇篮。

"There are multiple competing theories as to where and how life started. Underwater hydrothermal vents are among most promising locations for life's beginnings — our findings now add weight to that theory with solid experimental evidence," the study's lead author, Nick Lane, noted in a statement.

关于生命的起源和方式，存在多种相互矛盾的理论。水下热液喷口是最有希望的生命起源地点之一，我们的发现为这一理论提供了有力的实验证据。

The key to their findings was the humble protocell, considered the most basic building block for all life on Earth. The scientists were able to replicate the formation of protocells in an environment very similar to that found in a hydrothermal vent. Typically protocells form naturally in freshwater bodies. The ocean, on the other hand, with its salt and high alkalinity levels, wouldn't seem like the ideal nursemaids for these infant cells — particularly the heated regions near undersea volcanoes.

他们发现的关键是不起眼的原始细胞，它被认为是地球上所有生命最基本的组成部分。科学家们能够在与热液喷口非常相似的环境中复制原始细胞的形成。典型的原生细胞在淡水中自然形成。另一方面，海洋，因为它的盐和高碱度水平，看起来不像是这些婴儿细胞的理想的保姆——特别是在海底火山附近的加热区域。

The protocell is considered the basic building block for life on Earth. (Photo: Przemek Kaczmarek/Shutterstock)

In past experiments, as IFLScience reports, protocells successfully spawned in the cool freshwater of labs, quickly became undone when exposed to briny seawater.

据IFLScience报道，在过去的实验中，原始细胞成功地在实验室的淡水中繁殖，但一旦暴露在含盐的海水中，这些细胞很快就会消失。

Considering the vast timeframe involved it may seem like a niggling detail: what does it matter that life may have sprung from the depths of the ocean, rather than from shallow freshwater pools?

考虑到所涉及的时间范围之广，这似乎是一个琐碎的细节:生命可能起源于海洋深处，而不是浅水池塘，这又有什么关系呢?

Ultimately, it may not be about tracing life here on Earth — but its existence in other parts of the cosmos.

最终，它可能不是在地球上寻找生命，而是在宇宙的其他地方寻找生命的存在。

Consider Jupiter's fourth largest moon, Europa. Scientists suspect the vast ocean beneath its frozen enamel may be packed with sodium chloride, also known as table salt. Add potential volcanic activity below the seafloor — and someone may be cooking with gas.

以木星的第四大卫星——木卫二为例。科学家们怀疑，在它冰冻的珐琅质下面的浩瀚海洋里可能充满了氯化钠，也就是食盐。再加上海底潜在的火山活动，有人可能正在用天然气做饭。

Indeed, the new research suggests primordial soup may not be such a uniquely homemade creation at all.

事实上，这项新研究表明，原始汤可能根本就不是一种独特的自制食物。