新的研究表明外星生命幾乎是必然的

新的研究表明外星生命幾乎是必然的

NASA is committed to finding life in the universe and a new study suggests it “could be common,” when taking into account how life’s building blocks spontaneously form throughout the universe.

NASA致力于尋找宇宙中的生命，一項新的研究表明，考慮到生命的構成要素是如何在整個宇宙中自發(fā)形成的，它“可能很普遍”。

The research, published in Scientific Reports, notes that RNA (ribonucleic acid) is relatively simple compared to DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid), requiring approximately 40 to 100 nucleotides for life to exist.

發(fā)表在《科學報告》(Scientific Reports)上的這項研究指出，RNA(核糖核酸)與DNA(脫氧核糖核酸)相比相對簡單，生命的存在大約需要40至100個核苷酸。

“Given sufficient time, nucleotides can spontaneously connect to form RNA given the right chemical conditions,” a statement accompanying the research reads. “But current estimates suggest that magic number of 40 to 100 nucleotides should not have been possible in the volume of space we consider the observable universe.”

“如果有足夠的時間，在適當?shù)幕瘜W條件下，核苷酸可以自發(fā)地連接形成RNA，”該研究的一份聲明中寫道，“但目前的估計表明，40到100個核苷酸的神奇數(shù)量，在我們認為可以觀測到的宇宙空間中是不可能存在的。”

“However, there is more to the universe than the observable,” said the study’s lead author, Tomonori Totani, in the statement. “In contemporary cosmology, it is agreed the universe underwent a period of rapid inflation producing a vast region of expansion beyond the horizon of what we can directly observe. Factoring this greater volume into models of abiogenesis hugely increases the chances of life occurring.”

“然而，宇宙中有比可觀測到的更多的東西，”該研究的第一作者Tomonori Totani在聲明中說，“在當代宇宙學中，人們一致認為，宇宙經(jīng)歷了一個快速膨脹的時期，產(chǎn)生了一個巨大的膨脹區(qū)域，超出了我們可以直接觀測到的范圍。將這一更大的體積納入到非生物發(fā)生的模型中，將大大增加生命出現(xiàn)的機會。”

It’s believed the number of stars in the observable universe is estimated to be 10 sextillion, but that could be as high as 10 googol, “thanks to rapid inflation,” which would make the existence of RNA structures “practically inevitable.”

據(jù)信，在可觀測的宇宙中，恒星的數(shù)量估計為10萬億分之一，但“由于快速膨脹”，這可能高達10個googol，這將使RNA結(jié)構的存在“幾乎不可避免”。

“Like many in this field of research, I am driven by curiosity and by big questions,” Totani added. “Combining my recent investigation into RNA chemistry with my long history of cosmology leads me to realize there is a plausible way the universe must have gone from an abiotic (lifeless) state to a biotic one. It’s an exciting thought and I hope research can build on this to uncover the origins of life.”

Totani補充說：“像這個研究領域的許多人一樣，我受到好奇心和大重大問題的驅(qū)使。” “將我最近對RNA化學的研究與我悠久的宇宙學歷史相結(jié)合，使我認識到，宇宙必須從非生物(無生命)狀態(tài)轉(zhuǎn)變?yōu)樯餇顟B(tài)，這是一種可行的方式。這是一個令人興奮的想法，我希望可以在此基礎上進行研究，以發(fā)現(xiàn)生命的起源。”