中新网北京4月5日电 记者孙自法报道，国际知名学术期刊《自然》近日发表了一篇引人注目的化学研究论文，揭示了生命化学起源的一个重要线索。科研团队通过一系列实验室实验表明，地球上的热流，如火山活动和地热系统的热流，可能在生命的起源过程中起到了关键作用，通过净化与生命起源密切相关的化学分子，促进了生命基本成分的形成。
论文指出，这些热流能够穿越岩石裂缝，将复杂的化学混合物中可能干扰生命形成过程的杂质去除，从而筛选出生命所需的基本分子。这一发现为理解生命最初如何从混沌的化学环境中诞生提供了新的视角。研究人员强调，这一净化过程可能是早期地球环境下，生命前体物质得以浓缩和纯化的重要机制。
这一实验结果为生命化学起源的理论提供了实验证据，挑战了以往对生命起源环境的简单认知，表明地壳深处的热力学过程可能在生命的孕育中扮演了决定性角色。这一发现不仅深化了我们对生命起源的理解，也为未来在其他星球寻找可能的生命迹象提供了新的探索方向。
科研团队表示，接下来将继续深入研究这些热流作用于特定分子的具体机制，以期构建更为完整的生命起源模型。这一突破性的研究成果为科学家们探索宇宙中生命的普遍性提供了新的思路和实验依据。
英语如下：
News Title: “Heat Flows Purify the Chemistry of Life’s Origins: Experiments Reveal Secrets of Early Life”
Keywords: Origins of life, Chemical experiments, Rock purification
News Content:
BEIJING, China, April 5th – Journalist Zhang Zifa reports for China News Service that an intriguing chemical research paper, published recently in the prestigious journal Nature, has shed light on a crucial clue to the origins of life. A scientific team has demonstrated through laboratory experiments that heat flows on Earth, such as those from volcanic activity and geothermal systems, might have played a pivotal role in the early stages of life by purifying molecules connected to the origin of life, thereby facilitating the formation of life’s fundamental components.
The paper suggests that these heat flows, traversing through rock fissures, could have removed impurities from complex chemical mixtures that might have interfered with the process of life formation, selectively preserving the basic molecules necessary for life. This finding offers a new perspective on how life emerged from the chaotic chemical environment of early Earth. Researchers emphasize that this purification process might have been a significant mechanism for concentrating and purifying prebiotic substances under the conditions of the early Earth.
The experimental results provide empirical evidence for theories on the chemical origins of life, challenging the simplistic understanding of the environmental conditions that gave rise to life. They suggest that thermodynamic processes deep within the Earth’s crust could have had a decisive role in nurturing life. This discovery not only enriches our comprehension of life’s beginnings but also points to new avenues for exploring potential signs of life on other planets.
The research team plans to delve deeper into the specific mechanisms by which these heat flows affect individual molecules, striving to build a more comprehensive model of life’s origins. This groundbreaking research furnishes scientists with fresh insights and experimental grounds to explore the universality of life in the cosmos.
【来源】http://www.chinanews.com/gj/2024/04-05/10193424.shtml
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