WHAT if life on Earth was inevitable – and arose merely as a consequence of the laws of physics? Perhaps it would encourage alien hunters in their search for life elsewhere in the universe.
The notion that life is bound to emerge has been given renewed credence by an experiment that has run parts of the key metabolic reaction known as the Krebs cycle in reverse. In this direction it makes simple biomolecules from carbon dioxide, sunlight and two compounds thought to have been present in the primordial soup.
Almost all organisms on Earth use the Krebs cycle to produce energy…
