Dec 12, 2025 08:31 PM
https://www.universetoday.com/articles/d...rface-gels
EXCERPT: The team's "prebiotic gel-first" theory posits that surface gels with properties similar to microbial biofilms (thin layers of bacteria) could have trapped and organized organic molecules. This would have provided the necessary structure for early chemical systems to emerge, which might have developed proto-metabolic and self-replicating behaviors, laying the foundation for life as we know it. This theory draws on soft matter chemistry and modern biology and takes inspiration from gels found today growing on rocks, in ponds, and on artificial structures.
As Professor Tony Z. Jia, a co-author on the study, said in a Hiroshima University press release, this represents a departure from conventional abiogenesis theories. “While many theories focus on the function of biomolecules and biopolymers, our theory instead incorporates the role of gels at the origins of life,” he said. What makes this theory intriguing is that it addresses a key barrier in prebiotic chemistry: by allowing for molecular concentration, selective retention, and environmental buffering, these gels ensured that the processes on which life depends were developed in advance.
Extended to the field of astrobiology, this theory suggests that similar gel-like structures ("xeno-films") could exist on other planets and bodies. These films may also be composed of different chemical building blocks that are unique to the local environment, perhaps giving rise to exotic life forms based on similar chemical regimens. This presents another intriguing aspect of the theory: the ways it could open opportunities for future astrobiological surveys. Instead of searching for specific chemicals, scientists could be looking for specific gel-like structures... (MORE - details)
EXCERPT: The team's "prebiotic gel-first" theory posits that surface gels with properties similar to microbial biofilms (thin layers of bacteria) could have trapped and organized organic molecules. This would have provided the necessary structure for early chemical systems to emerge, which might have developed proto-metabolic and self-replicating behaviors, laying the foundation for life as we know it. This theory draws on soft matter chemistry and modern biology and takes inspiration from gels found today growing on rocks, in ponds, and on artificial structures.
As Professor Tony Z. Jia, a co-author on the study, said in a Hiroshima University press release, this represents a departure from conventional abiogenesis theories. “While many theories focus on the function of biomolecules and biopolymers, our theory instead incorporates the role of gels at the origins of life,” he said. What makes this theory intriguing is that it addresses a key barrier in prebiotic chemistry: by allowing for molecular concentration, selective retention, and environmental buffering, these gels ensured that the processes on which life depends were developed in advance.
Extended to the field of astrobiology, this theory suggests that similar gel-like structures ("xeno-films") could exist on other planets and bodies. These films may also be composed of different chemical building blocks that are unique to the local environment, perhaps giving rise to exotic life forms based on similar chemical regimens. This presents another intriguing aspect of the theory: the ways it could open opportunities for future astrobiological surveys. Instead of searching for specific chemicals, scientists could be looking for specific gel-like structures... (MORE - details)