Pumice As Cradle Of Life?

In which context did life arise? A problem yet unsolved. Several plausible ideas and hypotheses have been put forward: shallow seas, meteorites (see DNA, Made In Space?), and even much more extreme habitats, such as hydrothermal vents. Perhaps pumice should be added to the list?Pumice (see figure 1), a volcanic rock formed by solidified frothy lava, is known to be porous and, once upon a time in its history, gas-rich. Now, a new study, published in Astrobiology, poses that extensive rafts of pumice have four properties that would actually make them a suitable candidate for the location where life arose. Figure 1: An example of pumice.(Source: Wikimedia Commons, user MPF) read more

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