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- Holm, Nils, 1948-
(författare)
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Phosphorylation at Convergent Margins
- 2009
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Ingår i: Origins of Life and Evolution of the Biospheres. - Dordrecht : Springer. ; , s. 194-194
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Konferensbidrag (populärvet., debatt m.m.)
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- Holm, Nils, 1948-, et al.
(författare)
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Reduction of nitrogen compounds i oceanic basemet and its implications for HCN formation and abiotic organic synthesis
- 2009
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Ingår i: Geochemical Transactions. - : BioMed Central Ltd. - 1467-4866. ; 10:9
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Hydrogen cyanide is an excellent organic reagent and is central to most of the reaction pathways leading to abiotic formation of simple organic compounds containing nitrogen, such as amino acids, purines and pyrimidines. Reduced carbon and nitrogen precursor compounds for the synthesis of HCN may be formed under off-axis hydrothermal conditions in oceanic lithosphere in the presence of native Fe and Ni and are adsorbed on authigenic layer silicates and zeolites. The native metals as well as the molecular hydrogen reducing CO2 to CO/CH4 and NO3-/NO2- to NH3/NH4+ are a result of serpentinization of mafic rocks. Oceanic plates are conveyor belts of reduced carbon and nitrogen compounds from the off-axis hydrothermal environments to the subduction zones, where compaction, dehydration, desiccation and diagenetic reactions affect the organic precursors. CO/CH4 and NH3/NH4+ in fluids distilled out of layer silicates and zeolites in the subducting plate at an early stage of subduction will react upon heating and form HCN, which is then available for further organic reactions to, for instance, carbohydrates, nucleosides or even nucleotides, under alkaline conditions in hydrated mantle rocks of the overriding plate. Convergent margins in the initial phase of subduction must, therefore, be considered the most potent sites for prebiotic reactions on Earth. This means that origin of life processes are, perhaps, only possible on planets where some kind of plate tectonics occur.
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- Lindgren, Paula, 1977-, et al.
(författare)
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Pyrite as a template for carbon fixation
- 2009
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Ingår i: Origins of Life and Evolution of the Biospheres. - Dordrecht : Springer. ; , s. 370-371
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Konferensbidrag (populärvet., debatt m.m.)abstract
- An important process in the evolution of life is the precipitation and concentration of organic species. There are several examples of minerals acting as templates for the accumulation and concentration of organic matter. These include for instance clays (e.g. Cairns-Smith and Hartman, 1986), radioactive minerals (e.g. Rasmussen, et al. 1993), zeolites and feldspars (e.g. Smith, et al. 1999) and the sulphide mineral pyrite (FeS2) (e.g. Wächtershäuser, 1988). Wächtershäuser (1988) suggested that prebiotic chemistry and eventually life itself could have started on the surface of pyrite. Pyrite carries a slight positive electrical charge, and can attract negatively charged organic molecules, bringing them close enough to interact. Pyrite is also oil-wet in some circumstances (Yusupova, 2002). This means that if the mineral is exposed to a mix of oil and water, the oil will preferentially adhere to the surface of pyrite. We have studied migrated organic matter in the Irish Carboniferous, including in sulphide deposits, to assess whether sulphides in fact do act as templates for organics. Here, pyrite was found acting as a template for carbon fixation in hydrothermal calcite veins, cutting through limestone. The pyrite crystals are ca. 1 mm in diameter and scattered throughout the vein matrix. The organic matter is migrated bitumen, and appears as smooth and rounded solid droplets, concentrated around the pyrite crystals. Scanning electron microscope analyses show the organics occurring as a ca. 150 µm thick and even coating around the pyrite crystals. Sulphide templates could be important for carbon fixation on Mars. There is widespread evidence of that sulphur species are prominent in Martian surface environments, assumed to have been introduced to the surface through volcanic activity. Currently, the Martian surface is highly oxidizing and therefore sulphates predominate, but early in the planet’s history reducing conditions pertained. Accordingly it has been suggested that sulphides occurs on Mars (Burns and Fisher, 1990), now preserved at depth. Sulphides are also known to be present on Mars from Martian meteorites (e.g. Greenwood, et al. 2000). Sulphides are sources of fuel for micro-organisms that oxidize sulphides on Earth, and the same could have been the case on Mars (Bishop, et al. 2004). The carbon coated pyrite in this study, is one example from the geological record showing that terrestrial sulphides can have a high potential for the preservation of organic materials. This could also be possible on Mars, and therefore Martian sulphides are good targets for seeking evidence of putative Martian life.
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