由Luke Steller、Albert Fahrenbach、Martin Van Kranendonk及其同事进行的新研究发现，来自陨石的核糖与硼酸盐之间的相互保护关系可能为早期地球生命的形成创造了关键条件1。这项发表在《科学报告》期刊上的研究表明，作为RNA分子主链上的重要成分，核糖本身十分脆弱，遇热即会分解1。然而硼酸盐——一类含硼、氧和氢的分子——能够与核糖结合，有效防止其分解，而核糖反过来又帮助硼酸盐矿物溶解并保持溶解状态1。这种双向的保护机制在46亿年前的地球早期可能发挥了至关重要的作用1。
研究人员以印度喜马拉雅山地区的Puga热泉为研究对象，该地泉水中硼含量丰富1。核糖的太空来源得到了实证支持：1969年陨石Murchison在澳大利亚维多利亚坠落时，其中就含有核糖1。科学家估计在早期陨石轰击期间，每年约100万吨碳可能到达地球1。约40亿年前，地球大气中氧气含量很少，火山活动频繁，这样的环境条件下，来自宇宙的糖分子与地球矿物的相互作用可能共同促进了生命分子的形成1。
A new study published in Scientific Reports reveals how ribose, a delicate sugar molecule potentially originating from space, may have played a crucial role in enabling the emergence of life on early Earth.1 Researchers including Luke Steller, Albert Fahrenbach, Martin Van Kranendonk, and colleagues discovered a mutually beneficial relationship between ribose and borate minerals that could have been essential approximately 4.6 billion years ago.1
Ribose serves as the fragile sugar backbone of RNA molecules and degrades when exposed to heat.1 However, when borate compounds—molecules containing boron, oxygen, and hydrogen—combine with ribose, they shield the sugar from decomposition, creating a protective mechanism.1 This interaction may have been critical in an early Earth environment characterized by minimal atmospheric oxygen and frequent volcanic activity roughly 4 billion years ago.1 The researchers identified the Puga hot springs in India's Himalayan region as a location where high boron concentrations in water could have facilitated such chemical interactions.1
The origin of this ribose may trace back to space itself.1 The Murchison meteorite, which fell in Victoria in 1969, contained ribose, suggesting that extraterrestrial delivery of sugar molecules was possible.1 Scientists estimate that approximately one million tons of carbon may have reached Earth annually during the early bombardment period from meteorite impacts.1 This convergence of protective borate chemistry and sugar molecules arriving from space could have established the geochemical foundation necessary for life's emergence on our planet.
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