Let there be lightning! The vital phenomenon at the origin of life on earth

An exquisite fulgurite sample has revealed that lightning likely played a greater role than meteor strikes in providing accessible phosphorus for the development of life on Earth.  Recent research has shown that lightning played a much larger role in creating the conditions necessary for life to emerge than had previously been thought. By studying a fulgurite rock sample created by a lightning strike in 2016, a team of researchers from the University of Leeds (Leeds, UK) have shown that the Earth’s supply of available phosphorus – essential for life – was generated in greater quantities by lightning than meteor strikes....