Nitrogen Recycling May Be Essential to, and a Signature of, Life
TNRTB Archive – Retained for reference information
A team of scientists further highlighted the fine-tuning required to produce a planet capable of sustaining long-standing life. Virtually all scientists realize liquid water and abundant carbon are essential to life. Nitrogen is equally important. However, nonbiological processes deplete nitrogen gas from the atmosphere and continents by increasing the amount of nitrates in the oceans. Thus, biological organisms that extract nitrogen from the oceans and return it to the atmosphere in gaseous form are essential for maintaining a stable nitrogen cycle, upon which terrestrial life vitally depends. Consequently, atmospheric nitrogen may also serve as a marker that astrobiologists can use to assess whether extrasolar planets house life. RTB’s cosmic creation model predicts such fine-tuning as seen in the maintenance of a stable nitrogen cycle. The model also predicts that new tools developed to search for life in the universe will continue to show the uniqueness of Earth’s habitability.
- Douglas G. Capone et al., “Follow the Nitrogen,” Science 312 (2006): 708-09.
- https://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/summary/312/5774/708
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