The Origin of Chiral Life

TL;DR

This paper explores the origin of life through four hypotheses, emphasizing the role of element abundance, interstellar dust, universe aging, and chirality as essential conditions for life’s emergence, supported by astrophysical evidence.

Contribution

It introduces a comprehensive framework of four interconnected hypotheses explaining the origin of life based on astrophysical and chemical considerations.

Findings

Life's elemental composition matches cosmic abundance curves.

Interstellar dust likely played a critical role in life's origin.

Chirality is essential for the emergence of life.

Abstract

The phenomenon of life is discussed within a framework of its origin as defined by four hypotheses. The 1. hypothesis says: Life, as we know, is (H-C-N-O) based and relies on the number of bulk (Na-Mg-P-S-Cl-K-Ca) and trace elements (Cr-Mn-Fe-Co-Ni-Cu-Zn-Se-Mo-I-W, and possibly Li-B-F-Si-V-As). It originated when the element abundance curve of the living matter and of the Universe, coincided. The 2. hypothesis is: Life originated in an interstellar molecular cloud with the critical role of dust particles. The 3. hypothesis arises from the 1. and states: Because of the Universe ageing, life originated only once. The dust forming planetary system and stars already contained an excess of L-type amino acids and D-type sugars, therefore, the emerging life on any planet had to be chiral. Consequently, the 4. hypothesis has been formed: Chirality is a sine qua non-condition for the emergence of life. The arguments supporting these hypotheses are put forward based on numerous astrophysical observations and physics laws.