'Nature's batteries' may have helped power early lifeforms
Tuesday, May 25, 2010 - 09:02
in Astronomy & Space
Researchers at the University of Leeds have uncovered new clues to the origins of life on Earth. The team found that a compound known as pyrophosphite may have been an important energy source for primitive lifeforms. There are several conflicting theories of how life on Earth emerged from inanimate matter billions of years ago -- a process known as abiogenesis.