Over the last 70 years, prebiotic chemists have been very successful in synthesizing the
molecules of life, from amino acids to nucleotides. Yet there is strikingly little resemblance …

The aqueous alteration of ultramafic rocks through serpentinization liberates mantle carbon
and reducing power. Serpentinization occurs in numerous settings on present day Earth …

Chemical gardens are perhaps the best example in chemistry of a self-organizing
nonequilibrium process that creates complex structures. Many different chemical systems …

Hydrothermal circulation and alteration at mid-ocean ridges and ridge flanks have a key role
in regulating seawater chemistry and global chemical fluxes, and support diverse …

This paper presents a reformulation of the submarine alkaline hydrothermal theory for the
emergence of life in response to recent experimental findings. The theory views life, like …

Life on Earth is limited by physical and chemical extremes that define the 'habitable
space'within which it operates. Aside from its requirement for liquid water, no definite limits …

At deep-sea hydrothermal vents, primary production is carried out by chemolithoautotrophic
microorganisms, with the oxidation of reduced sulfur compounds being a major driver for …

Ultramafic rocks in the Earth's mantle represent a tremendous reservoir of carbon and
reducing power. Upon tectonic uplift and exposure to fluid flow, serpentinization of these …

Living cells are able to harvest energy by coupling exergonic electron transfer between
reducing and oxidising substrates to the generation of chemiosmotic potential. Whereas a …

Both hydrogen and methane are consistently discharged in large quantities in hydrothermal
fluids issued from ultramafic-hosted hydrothermal fields discovered along the Mid-Atlantic …