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Evidence for undersea origins of life.(Brief article)

Scientists have discovered that hydrocarbons--essential building blocks of life--are naturally generated at the bottom of the ocean. The researchers examined rocks from a seafloor hydrothermal vent field called "Lost City" (right), near the summit of the Atlantis Massif, a curious dome made of rock usually found deep in Earth's mantle (see below). Chemical analyses showed that the carbon in the rocks was not formed from atmospheric carbon dioxide, nor made by microbes. Instead, the hydrocarbons were generated by the chemical interaction of seawater with mantle rocks--conditions that were likely common during Earth's early years. The ...

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