Earth may have gained optimal conditions for life's chemistry 4.33 billion years ago

• The study suggests that Earth may have gained optimal conditions for life's chemistry 4.33 billion years ago, based on a 3D model of impact events.
• The model shows that after 4.4 billion years ago, impact-related heating became less widespread, allowing stable environments to develop.
• The research team found that after 4.4 billion years ago, "never-sterilized" regions appeared, where temperatures remained below the threshold needed for prebiotic chemistry.
• The model simulates how impacts heated Earth's crust over 1 billion years, showing a shift beginning around 4.4 billion years ago.
• The findings suggest that stable environments began to persist after about 4.4 billion years ago, allowing RNA and other molecules to survive.
• Impacts also fueled hydrothermal systems, creating environments ideal for the chemical reactions that preceded life.
• The study highlights that prebiotic chemistry needed continuous stable temperatures, not just a brief cool interval between impacts.
• The research team identifies 4.33 billion years ago as a favorable point in the transition from impact-driven hydrothermal activity to stable environments.
• The findings are published in Nature Communications, with the authors calling these "never-sterilized" regions important for the development of life.

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