Scientists have questioned the 160-year-old theory of the origin of life on Earth

Scientific breakthrough: researchers refute popular theory about the origin of life on Earth. Scientists from Scripps Research and Georgia Institute of Technology have called into question one of the oldest scientific hypotheses about the origin of life. The famous formose reaction, supposedly explaining the spontaneous formation of ribose — a key component of RNA — on early Earth, has proven to be untenable.

As reported by SciTechDaily, during thorough laboratory experiments, researchers made an unexpected discovery: the formose reaction is not capable of creating linear sugars, including ribose. Contrary to expectations, the reaction predominantly produces branched structures unsuitable for the formation of RNA — a molecule critically important for the transmission of genetic information.

"If we want to understand how these sugars could have emerged on early Earth, we need to look for alternative scenarios," said Professor of Chemistry Ramanarayanan Krishnamurthy, co-author of the study.

Charles Liotta, Professor Emeritus at Georgia Institute of Technology, also noted that the results of their work call into question the application of the formose reaction as a universal explanation for the origin of life molecules.

Although the study did not provide an answer to the question of ribose origin, its findings may find practical applications in other areas. In particular, the mild reaction conditions allow for more efficient production of branched sugars - important raw materials for the production of environmentally friendly biofuels.

The scientists emphasize that this is not a final rejection of the formose reaction hypothesis, but the results should encourage the scientific community to seek new ways of understanding the origin of life on our planet.