Scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have looked at alternative solvents to water that could be suitable as a basis for the existence of life on other planets. According to the results of the study, "published" on the preprint server arXiv, only water turned out to be the only suitable basis for life.
The researchers looked at whether there were other molecules common in the universe that could play the same role as water, dissolving essential nutrients, making them available to living organisms. Such substances must meet four criteria: dissolve only some molecules (but not all), play an important role in metabolism, do not destroy a wide range of complex organic molecules, and exist for billions of years on rocky planets.
Ammonia satisfies the first three conditions, but it is easily destroyed when exposed to ultraviolet radiation. Also, where ammonia exists, water also exists, so it will not be the primary solvent.
Concentrated sulfuric acid also satisfies the three basic conditions, although it is unknown whether it can support a diverse set of organic molecules.
As for another common potential solvent, carbon dioxide, scientists question whether its properties are suitable for supporting complex metabolism. However, it reacts with many types of molecules, and scientists suggest that the properties of liquid CO2 merit further study. In this regard, we must protect the environment as scientists led by Edward Jones from Utrecht University assessed the current and future vulnerability of the world's population to water scarcity. They concluded that by the end of the 21st century, a third of the Earth's population (currently 55% of the world's population (3.8 billion people)) faces a shortage of drinking water.
Edward Jones et al. / Nature Climate Change, 2024
They used the high-resolution global hydrological model PCR-GLOBWB to determine water storage and the DynQual model, which allows assessing its quality based on available data on the content of solids, salts, pathogens and pollutants. It turned out that the number of people facing a shortage of potable water for one month of the year was underestimated by eight percent - that is, by more than 500 million people. The authors estimated the number of people experiencing such shortages year-round at 710 million, doubling previous estimates. They noted that the worst situation will develop in sub-Saharan Africa, while in eastern Asia, on the contrary, water quality will improve and mitigate the overall shortage.
The results of the study were published in the journal Nature Climate Change.
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