Sulphites in lakes likely helped start life on Earth: Study
An MIT study has suggested large concentrations of sulphites and bisulphites in shallow lakes may have set the stage for Earth's first biological molecules. Researchers said the sulphur-based anions released by volcanoes around 3.9 billion years ago would have sped up the chemical reactions required to convert very simple prebiotic molecules into RNA, a genetic building block of life.