Research Suggests Molecular Clouds May Harbor Life Forms

Recent research by Lei Feng explores the potential for methanogenic and acetogenic life forms in molecular clouds, suggesting that these environments may have played a crucial role in the origins of life on Earth. The study, titled "Possibilities for methanogenic and acetogenic life in molecular cloud," examines the process of methanogenesis, which could provide sufficient energy to sustain living organisms.

The research calculates the Gibbs free energy released from synthesizing hydrocarbons, specifically focusing on methane and acetic acid as metabolic products. The findings indicate that the chemical reactions involved in methanogenesis can release enough energy to support life forms. This raises the possibility that methanogenic life could have been an ancestral form of life on Earth.

Additionally, the study proposes a method for testing this model by identifying potential distinguishing signals that could indicate the presence of such life forms in molecular clouds. The implications of this research extend to our understanding of life's origins and the conditions necessary for life to thrive beyond Earth.

The full paper can be accessed through arXiv under the identifier arXiv:2311.14291.