Where did life come from? It’s one of the most profound questions humanity has ever asked. 🌍 The Early Earth: A Hostile Cradle About 4.5 billion years ago, Earth formed from cosmic dust. The young planet was a hostile environment—volcanic activity raged, the surface was molten in places, and the atmosphere was thick with carbon dioxide, methane, ammonia, and water vapor. This was not a place we’d associate with life. Yet, these chaotic conditions may have been the perfect incubator. ⚡ The Spark of Life: Chemical Origins In 1953, the famous Miller-Urey experiment demonstrated that amino acids—the building blocks of proteins—could form when electricity (like lightning) passed through a mixture of early Earth-like gases. This suggested that life’s raw materials could arise naturally. Some scientists propose life began in hydrothermal vents on the ocean floor. These deep-sea vents offer heat and minerals, creating chemical gradients—ideal for the emergence of complex molecu...