New publications
Scientists will unravel the mystery of the emergence of life on the planet
Last reviewed: 02.07.2025
All iLive content is medically reviewed or fact checked to ensure as much factual accuracy as possible.
We have strict sourcing guidelines and only link to reputable media sites, academic research institutions and, whenever possible, medically peer reviewed studies. Note that the numbers in parentheses ([1], [2], etc.) are clickable links to these studies.
If you feel that any of our content is inaccurate, out-of-date, or otherwise questionable, please select it and press Ctrl + Enter.
A bacterium has been created that will help specialists unravel the mysteries of our Universe and understand how life appeared on Earth. The bacterium is based on silicon and carbon, and was developed by specialists from the California Institute of Technology. Many specialists adhered to the theory that life on our planet appeared thanks to carbon. The results of work with the new bacterium will help resolve the question of what caused the appearance of life on Earth - carbon or silicon, perhaps specialists will be able to study this issue from different angles.
Silicon and carbon have the same chemical properties - they have an equal set of free valences and can form polymer bonds with oxygen, which is the core of DNA.
In their new study, the experts used the method of directed evolution, and they are confident that this work will not only help unravel the mysteries of the emergence of life on the planet, but will also help develop new substances that can be useful not only in medicine, but also in other areas.
It is worth noting that other scientists are also trying to solve some of the mysteries of our Universe that have haunted many learned men of the past centuries. In one recent study, a team of specialists tried to determine why solar flares and gamma radiation occur.
According to experts, even a minor solar flare can cause communication disruptions, and an increase in the strength of cosmic gamma radiation can destroy all life on our planet in just seconds. Until recently, experts knew almost nothing about these phenomena, except that they depend on some kind of magnetic reconnection, but it was not possible to understand the reasons that provoke solar flares and cosmic energy emissions.
A gamma-ray burst is a colossal release of cosmic energy of an explosive nature. Such phenomena are currently occurring in universes distant from ours. These energy emissions are the brightest electromagnetic phenomena that occur in galaxies. Such a burst usually lasts for several seconds, but in some cases such a phenomenon can last for more than half an hour. After the first release of cosmic energy, a long "afterglow" usually begins, which occurs at longer waves, such as those used in X-rays, radio, optics, etc.
During solar flares, kinetic, light, and thermal energy is released in the three outer layers of the sun – the chromosphere, photosphere, and corona (the sun’s atmosphere). A powerful solar flare can be as powerful as the world’s energy consumption for 1 million years.
According to the authors of the study, both solar flares and gamma radiation occur regardless of all currently known laws; they occur according to some of their own principles that are not yet known to humanity. Experts continue to work in this area and are confident that they will be able to understand this issue and make some predictions about it.
[