PAH world hypothesis

Definition

The PAH world hypothesis is a speculative hypothesis that proposes that polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), known to be abundant in the universe, including in comets, and assumed to be abundant in the primordial soup of the early Earth, played a major role in the origin of life by mediating the synthesis of RNA molecules, leading into the RNA world. However, as yet, the hypothesis is untested.

Related concepts

Abiogenesis Acetaldehyde Acetamide Acetic acid Acetone Acetonitrile Acetylene Acrolein Acrylonitrile Adenine Alternative abiogenesis scenarios Aluminium(I) hydroxide Aluminium(II) oxide Aluminium isocyanide Aluminium monochloride Aluminium monofluoride Amino acids Amino radical Aminoacetonitrile Ammonia Ammonium Amphiphilic Anthracene Argonium Astrobiology Astrochemistry Astrophysical Journal Atomic and molecular astrophysics Base pair Benzene Benzonitrile Big Bang Buckminsterfullerene Butyronitrile C-Silicon dicarbide C70 fullerene CCP radical Carbodiimide Carbon Carbon cation Carbon dioxide Carbon monophosphide Carbon monosulfide Carbon monoxide Carbonyl sulfide Cat's Paw Nebula Catalyst Chemical formula Circumstellar dust Circumstellar envelope Constellation Cosmic dust Cosmic ray Cosmochemistry Covalent bonds Cyanamide Cyano radical Cyanoacetylene Cyanoallene Cyanobutadiynyl radical Cyanoformaldehyde Cyanomethyl Cyanopolyyne Cyclopentindene Cyclopropenone Cyclopropenylidene DNA Deuterium Diacetylene Diatomic carbon Diatomic molecule Diazenylium Dicarbon monoxide Diffuse interstellar band Dihydroxyacetone Dimethyl ether Discotic liquid crystal Disilicon carbide E-Cyanomethanimine Earliest known life forms Earth Ethanethiol Ethanimine Ethanol Ethyl formate Ethylene Ethylene glycol Ethylene oxide Ethynyl radical Exoplanets Extragalactic astronomy Extraterrestrial life Extraterrestrial liquid water Extraterrestrial materials Fluoresce Fluoromethylidynium Forbidden mechanism Formaldehyde Formamide Formamide-based prebiotic chemistry Formic acid Formyl radical Fullerenes Fulminic acid GADV-protein world hypothesis Glycine Glycol nucleic acid Glycolaldehyde Glycolonitrile Graham Cairns-Smith Graphene H2NCO+HC4N HCCN Halonium ion Heavy water Helium hydride ion Hemolithin Heptatrienyl radical Hexatriynyl radical History of research into the origin of life History of the Earth Homochirality Hydrogen Hydrogen bonds Hydrogen chloride Hydrogen cyanide Hydrogen deuteride Hydrogen fluoride Hydrogen isocyanide Hydrogen peroxide Hydrogen sulfide Hydrogenation Hydromagnesium isocyanide Hydroperoxyl Hydrophilic Hydrophobic Hydroxyl Hydroxyl radical Hydroxylation Hypothesis Imidogen Inorganic Intergalactic dust Interplanetary medium Interstellar formaldehyde Interstellar ice Interstellar medium Iron(II) cyanide Iron(II) oxide Iron-sulfur world theory Iron–sulfur world hypothesis Iron–sulfur world theory Isocyanic acid Isocyanoacetylene Isoformyl Joan Oró Kerogen Ketene Ketenimine Ketenyl Last universal common ancestor Lipids List of interstellar and circumstellar molecules Magnesium cyanide Magnesium isocyanide Magnesium monohydride Methanal Methane Methanethiol Methanol Methoxy Methoxyethane Methyl acetate Methyl cation Methyl formate Methyl isocyanate Methyl isocyanide Methyl radical Methylamine Methylene (compound)Methylene amidogen Methylenimine Methylidyne radical Methylidynephosphane Milky Way Galaxy Miller–Urey experiment Molecule Molecules in stars N-Methylformamide NASA Naphthalene Nature Astronomy Nexus for Exoplanet System Science Nitric oxide Nitrogen Nitrous oxide Nitroxyl Nucleobase Nucleobases Nucleotide Nucleotides Octatetraynyl radical Oligomer Organic compound Organic compounds Origin of life Outer space Oxygen Oxygenate Ozone PAH world PH Paleobiology Panspermia Pascale Ehrenfreund Peptide-RNA world Peptide nucleic acid Phosphine Phosphorus mononitride Phosphorus monoxide Photodissociation region Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon Polyyne Potassium chloride Potassium cyanide Primordial sandwich Primordial sea Primordial soup Propadienylidene Propene Propionaldehyde Propionitrile Propynal Propyne Propynylidyne Proteins Protocell Protonated carbon dioxide Protonated cyanoacetylene Protonated formaldehyde Protonated hydrogen cyanide Protoplanetary disks Pseudo-panspermia Purine Pyrene Pyrimidine Quasispecies model RNA RNA world RNA world hypothesis Reducing atmosphere Ribozyme Ribozymes Saturn Scorpius SiNC Silane Silicon-carbide cluster Silicon carbide Silicon carbonitride Silicon monosulfide Silicon monoxide Silicon tricarbide Silylidyne Sodium chloride Sodium cyanide Sodium hydroxide Sodium iodide Space.com Spanish National Research Council Spectroscopy Spitzer Space Telescope Spontaneous generation Star formation Sugars Sulfanyl Sulfur dioxide Sulfur mononitride Sulfur monoxide The Astrophysical Journal Letters Thermosynthesis Thiocyanic acid Thioformaldehyde Thioformyl Thioxoethenylidene Tholin Threose nucleic acid Titan (moon)Titanium(II) oxide Titanium dioxide Triatomic molecule Tricarbon Tricarbon monosulfide Tricarbon monoxide Trihydrogen cation UV Universe Universe Today Vinyl alcohol Vinyl cyanide Volcano Water

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