新的研究表明外星生命几乎是必然的

NASA is committed to finding life in the universe and a new study suggests it “could be common,” when taking into account how life’s building blocks spontaneously form throughout the universe.

NASA致力于寻找宇宙中的生命，一项新的研究表明，考虑到生命的构成要素是如何在整个宇宙中自发形成的，它“可能很普遍”。

The research, published in Scientific Reports, notes that RNA (ribonucleic acid) is relatively simple compared to DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid), requiring approximately 40 to 100 nucleotides for life to exist.

发表在《科学报告》(Scientific Reports)上的这项研究指出，RNA(核糖核酸)与DNA(脱氧核糖核酸)相比相对简单，生命的存在大约需要40至100个核苷酸。

“Given sufficient time, nucleotides can spontaneously connect to form RNA given the right chemical conditions,” a statement accompanying the research reads. “But current estimates suggest that magic number of 40 to 100 nucleotides should not have been possible in the volume of space we consider the observable universe.”

“如果有足够的时间，在适当的化学条件下，核苷酸可以自发地连接形成RNA，”该研究的一份声明中写道，“但目前的估计表明，40到100个核苷酸的神奇数量，在我们认为可以观测到的宇宙空间中是不可能存在的。”

“However, there is more to the universe than the observable,” said the study’s lead author, Tomonori Totani, in the statement. “In contemporary cosmology, it is agreed the universe underwent a period of rapid inflation producing a vast region of expansion beyond the horizon of what we can directly observe. Factoring this greater volume into models of abiogenesis hugely increases the chances of life occurring.”

“然而，宇宙中有比可观测到的更多的东西，”该研究的第一作者Tomonori Totani在声明中说，“在当代宇宙学中，人们一致认为，宇宙经历了一个快速膨胀的时期，产生了一个巨大的膨胀区域，超出了我们可以直接观测到的范围。将这一更大的体积纳入到非生物发生的模型中，将大大增加生命出现的机会。”

It’s believed the number of stars in the observable universe is estimated to be 10 sextillion, but that could be as high as 10 googol, “thanks to rapid inflation,” which would make the existence of RNA structures “practically inevitable.”

据信，在可观测的宇宙中，恒星的数量估计为10万亿分之一，但“由于快速膨胀”，这可能高达10个googol，这将使RNA结构的存在“几乎不可避免”。

“Like many in this field of research, I am driven by curiosity and by big questions,” Totani added. “Combining my recent investigation into RNA chemistry with my long history of cosmology leads me to realize there is a plausible way the universe must have gone from an abiotic (lifeless) state to a biotic one. It’s an exciting thought and I hope research can build on this to uncover the origins of life.”

Totani补充说：“像这个研究领域的许多人一样，我受到好奇心和大重大问题的驱使。” “将我最近对RNA化学的研究与我悠久的宇宙学历史相结合，使我认识到，宇宙必须从非生物(无生命)状态转变为生物状态，这是一种可行的方式。这是一个令人兴奋的想法，我希望可以在此基础上进行研究，以发现生命的起源。”