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Diamonds may have acted as catalyst for life on Earth

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Indira-London

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I found this interesting and thought it might be of interest to others.
If anyone needs more reasons to find diamonds fascinating, here is one more!

Diamonds may have acted as catalyst for life on Earth
by Rich Bowden - Jul 27 2008, 21:46
The Tech Herald - Indianapolis,IN,USA

Scientists have long believed the origins of life on Earth lay in a primordial soup of chemicals but have been undecided as to how the precursor amino acids were assembled into complex polymers necessary for the beginning of life.


Now a German study, published in the Aug 06 issue of the American Chemical Society''s journal Crystal Growth and Design, has suggested that diamonds played an important catalyst role.


In experiments carried out to confirm previous research from three decades ago, scientists Andrei Sommer, Dan Zhu, and Hans-Joerg Fecht at the University of Ulm, found that when treated with hydrogen, natural diamonds formed crystalline layers of water on the surface.


With water a prerequisite for life as we know it on Earth, the researchers suggest when primitive molecules landed on the surface of these hydrogenated diamonds a few billion years ago, it may have been enough to kick-start life.


"Hydrogenated diamond advances to the best of all possible origin-of-life platforms," reports LiveScience magazine.


According to the report, diamonds are crystallised forms of carbon which pre-date the oldest known forms of life on the planet.
 
That''s really interesting! Thanks for the article.
 
Great stuff Indira - fascinating!!
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Awesome!! To think that we all might be descendants of diamonds...
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Ashes to ashes. Dust to dust... Diamonds to diamonds?
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Thanks Indira.
 
Date: 7/28/2008 12:55:35 PM
Author: Lorelei
Great stuff Indira - fascinating!!
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Thank you Lorelei
I like your new image - very dashing!
 
Date: 7/28/2008 1:47:31 PM
Author: Indira-London

Date: 7/28/2008 12:55:35 PM
Author: Lorelei
Great stuff Indira - fascinating!!
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Thank you Lorelei
I like your new image - very dashing!
LOL!! I thought it was time for a change!
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Lorelei, your new avatar looks very familiar!!!
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I love it!!!
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Indira-London - really interesting article, thank you!
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Well, I don''t know about life spawning from diamonds, but I like to believe that we are are ALL diamonds -- albeit some still in the rough. But after we die, we can have our remnants placed into a machine that pops us out a year later as a canary diamond! So eat up and get fat -- that way you''ll be large enough to morph into a big old honker should a loved one desire to wear you around their neck! :)

No, seriously, what does everyone think about turning a person into a diamond post mortem? Would you wear it? Aaakkk!!
 
Date: 7/28/2008 5:12:09 PM
Author: RxTechRN2b
Well, I don't know about life spawning from diamonds, but I like to believe that we are are ALL diamonds -- albeit some still in the rough. But after we die, we can have our remnants placed into a machine that pops us out a year later as a canary diamond! So eat up and get fat -- that way you'll be large enough to morph into a big old honker should a loved one desire to wear you around their neck! :)


No, seriously, what does everyone think about turning a person into a diamond post mortem? Would you wear it? Aaakkk!!

I joke with my husband that this is exactly what I want done when I die (well, to be completely and totally macabre, I'm actually trying to convince him to go back to our roots and have my skull made into a goblet, with the diamond set in my forehead, but so far I'm not making much headway on that
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), but the most recent thread on LifeGem kinda made me lose faith in the process.

ETA: Here's the thread, for the curious.
 
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