Strange poisonous 'icy cobwebs' may have been the engines that sparked life on Earth

Hydrogen Cyanide (HCN) might be a lethal poison today, but it may have been the essential "spark" that kick-started life on Earth and potentially other icy worlds like Saturn’s moon, Titan. Scientists have discovered that at extremely low temperatures, hydrogen cyanide transforms into unique, needle-like crystals that resemble "icy cobwebs." The chemical properties of these crystals change this poisonous substance into a key building block to make the components of DNA. The new study published in the journal ACS Central Science states that the deadly chemical might have been essential for all life to start on Earth. Martin Rahm, a co-author of the study from Chalmers University of Technology, said, "Hydrogen cyanide is likely one source of this chemical complexity, and we show that it can react surprisingly quickly in cold places." Rahm and his team found that when it is frozen, HCN crystal surfaces could trigger chemical reactions that might not be otherwise possible in cold environments.

They state that these surfaces generate permanent electric fields that act as a "chemical engine" to lower the energy barriers for certain reactions. According to the researchers, these electric fields can transform HCN into the more reactive hydrogen isocyanide (HNC). This more reactive version is a key building block for complex prebiotic molecules like amino acids and nucleic acids. The study contradicts previous findings that suggest life originated in warm, liquid environments. Life's precursors could have emerged in cryogenic conditions, making the ultra-cold surface of comets or icy moons the perfect candidates.

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Why is Titan a potential candidate for alien life?

This research by Rahm and his colleagues also solves the mystery of why Titan's atmosphere contains an "anomalous" abundance of these reactive chemicals. Titan could be a massive "chemical laboratory" for the processes that happened on early Earth.

“Aside from its utility as an industrial chemical, its abundance makes it of interest in planetary science, in astrochemistry and as a plausible key building block for the chemistry that preceded the origins of life,” the authors wrote.

It also answers the question of where to look for life in space. NASA and other space agencies can work to locate cyanide crystals on other cosmic bodies, as it is likely a potential catalyst for life. This would narrow down options for the search for life as astronomers would know the specific "chemical fingerprints" to look for on other frozen planets.