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Our neighboring planet Venus has an extremely dense atmosphere composed of about 95% carbon dioxide, creating surface temperatures of up to 464°C and pressure around 92 times higher than on Earth. These conditions make it highly hostile to life as we know it. However, scientists argue it may be too early to rule it out completely.
Researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have been studying whether basic building blocks of life could exist in Venus’s atmosphere. In its upper cloud layers, temperatures are much milder—ranging from 0 to 50°C—making them the most potentially habitable region of the planet.
In a new study published in Molecules, scientists explored complex molecular structures capable of surviving in sulfuric acid. They specifically examined whether cyclopentane could replace deoxyribose, a key component of DNA.
The researchers emphasized that life requires complex polymers similar to RNA and DNA to perform biological functions. Identifying such molecules that remain stable in extreme environments like concentrated sulfuric acid is a crucial step in assessing the possibility of life.
Their findings suggest that cyclopentane could substitute for deoxyribose in certain nucleic acids. This supports the idea of sending future missions to Venus and builds on earlier findings from 2020, when phosphine—a potential biosignature of anaerobic life—was detected in its clouds.
Scientists conclude that while complex organic chemistry does not prove the existence of life, it is a necessary precondition, making Venus a more intriguing candidate in the search for extraterrestrial life.
