Heat Flows in Rock Cracks: Natural Laboratories for Prebiotic Chemistry

Prebiotic chemistry explores how simple organic compounds, like amino acids and nucleotides, formed under Earth's early conditions. These compounds are essential for life, forming the building blocks of proteins and DNA. Traditionally, scientists recreate these compounds in controlled lab settings, often relying on high concentrations and sequential chemical reactions. This paper investigates how natural geological conditions—specifically heat flows through rock cracks—could have similarly concentrated and purified these compounds, simplifying the complex mix of reactions needed for life to begin.