\n Some scientists are searching for the origins of life on Earth by simulating prebiotic conditions at hydrothermal vents, like this “black smoker” in the Pacific Ocean.
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<\/p>\n Ralph White\/Getty Images<\/p>\n <\/span>\n<\/div>\n Some scientists are searching for the origins of life on Earth by simulating prebiotic conditions at hydrothermal vents, like this “black smoker” in the Pacific Ocean.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Ralph White\/Getty Images<\/p>\n <\/span>\n <\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n How did life start on Earth? The answer is a big scientific mystery scientists are actively investigating. After talking with many scientists, host Regina G. Barber found that an abundance of water on Earth is most likely key, in some way, to the origin of life \u2014 specifically, in either deep sea hydrothermal vents or in tide pools. It’s for this reason some scientists are also exploring the potential for life in so-called “water worlds” elsewhere in the solar system, like some of the moons of Jupiter and Saturn. This episode, Regina digs into two water-related hypotheses for the origin on life on Earth \u2014 and what that might<\/em> mean for possible alien life. <\/p>\n![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/media.npr.org\/assets\/img\/2024\/11\/01\/11.4.24-ep_wide-429afa8055da256bb55e237401fe6542bb27e4f4.jpg?s=2600&c=100&f=jpeg\")
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