Origin of Life - Role of UV clarified

Genesis is an exciting question. Many contemplators suffer with bridging the inorganic and the organic world in their philosophical train of thought. How could life arise from "dead", inorganic matter? Most religions have their own story for that. However, science has definitely proven to be an effective tool for answering this question for at least half a century.

In the grand research for the chemical origins of life the most well-known step is probably the Miller-Urey experiment. In this experiment a mixture of water, hydrogen, methane, and ammonia was cycled through an apparatus that delivered electrical sparks to the mixture. As an end-product the two researchers got a mixture of organic compounds, including amino acids, one of the building blocks of living organisms. Other important pillars of life include nucleobases and nucleotides. These molecules can also be produced by simulating the properties of Earth's atmosphere in its primordial stage in another experiment. In this experiment hydrogen cyanide is irradiated by UV light and as a result it forms an imidazole intermediate that is a key substance for the synthesis of the two types of molecules mentioned above. Scientists have not been able to describe the underlying mechanism so far, but now an international group of researchers succeeded in clarifying the role of UV radiation in the process.

The finding of these researchers is only a small step in the chase for shedding light on the complex process of abiogenesis. Although advocates of theist religions tend to claim the opposite, the birth of life is likely to be explained solely by the means of science. Experiments like the ones mentioned above explain the synthesis of complex organic molecules, while theories concerning self-replicating and autocatalytic chemical processes support the hypothesis that these molecules hold the potential to form chemical machines that can evolve into living cells. It seems that the birth of life does not have to be the result of some heavenly miracle but can be derived from the basic properties of matter.