Abstract

Understanding how life began on Earth is a major scientific challenge with direct relevance to the study of exoplanets. As part of the origin-of-life research, scientists have identified chemical networks that could have produced life’s building blocks under early Earth conditions. One promising set of reactions, known as cyanosulfidic chemistry, can efficiently make these molecules from simple starting materials abundant on early Earth. However, these reactions differ from modern biochemistry, leaving a key question: How did early Earth chemistry evolve into modern biochemistry? In this talk, I will introduce the origins of life research and briefly discuss its connections to the exoplanet community. I will then present our experimental work exploring whether ultraviolet (UV) light from the young Sun could help bridge the gap from geochemistry to biochemistry, offering new insights into prebiotic chemical pathways. This talk does not assume prior knowledge of origin-of-life research.