Is water the “sole elixir of life”? Study explores other elements
A study by a research team from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology examines the possibility of life in distant worlds that may not rely on water as a fundamental solvent.
While water is a crucial solvent for life on Earth, researchers are exploring alternative solvents that could support life beyond Earth.
The study, published on the research preprint site “ArXiv,” identified concentrated sulfuric acid (H2SO4) and carbon dioxide (CO2) as potential candidates approaching the necessary conditions for life-friendly solvents.
The general criteria for life-friendly solvents are that they should dissolve some molecules but not all; they should be able to play a role in the metabolic process of living organisms; a wide range of complex organic molecules should be able to remain in solution; and they should be commonly present in rocky worlds for billions of years.
While sulfuric acid has some potential, carbon dioxide, especially in its liquid state on cold planets, appears as a promising alternative solvent due to its abundance and compatibility with organic molecules.
The research emphasizes the need for further studies to determine whether these alternative solvents could support complex metabolic processes and become the basis of life on other worlds.
The oceans of distant planets, such as Titan or cold outer planets, could provide environments containing unique solvents, challenging the idea that water is the sole solvent of life in the universe.
