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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Science
Ian Sample Science editor

Primordial surf: ‘microlightning’ in mist may have sparked life on Earth, study finds

Earth Charles Darwin
Large waves crash against a sea wall bearing a lighthouse
Researchers found that droplets carry opposing charges and when they come together, tiny sparks leap between them to create chemical reactions. Photograph: Owen Humphreys/PA

Charles Darwin thought it started in a warm pond. Others point to comets that ploughed into Earth. And some suspect a bolt from the blue, a lightning strike into the ocean.

How life started on Earth may forever be a mystery, but new research proposes a radical idea: that crashing waves and waterfalls may have kicked off the process by throwing up mists of water.

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