Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41259514›Full record

ArticleScience advances2025

Magmatic immiscibility provides phosphate for prebiotic chemistry.

Daniel Weller, Thomas Matreux, Iris B A Smokers, Almuth Schmid, Christof B Mast, Donald B Dingwell, Dieter Braun, Bettina Scheu

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Science advances, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors.

Daniel WellerEarth and Environmental Sciences, Ludwig Maximilians University, Munich, Germany.ORCID 0000-0001-8437-5931
Thomas MatreuxLaboratoire de Biophysique et Evolution, UMR CNRS-ESPCI 8231 Chimie Biologie Innovation, PSL University, Paris, France.ORCID 0000-0002-1389-7019
Iris B A SmokersInstitute for Molecules and Materials, Radboud University, Nijmegen, Netherlands.ORCID 0000-0001-7938-1616
Almuth SchmidSystems Biophysics, Ludwig Maximilians University, Munich, Germany.ORCID 0009-0002-5557-6368
Christof B MastSystems Biophysics, Ludwig Maximilians University, Munich, Germany.ORCID 0000-0002-3338-6275
Donald B DingwellEarth and Environmental Sciences, Ludwig Maximilians University, Munich, Germany.ORCID 0000-0002-3332-789X
Dieter BraunSystems Biophysics, Ludwig Maximilians University, Munich, Germany.ORCID 0000-0001-7751-1448
Bettina ScheuEarth and Environmental Sciences, Ludwig Maximilians University, Munich, Germany.ORCID 0000-0002-0478-1049

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Phosphorus is essential for extant and nascent life. However, phosphate's low terrestrial abundance and the poor aqueous solubility of phosphorus-bearing minerals pose major hurdles for prebiotic chemistry. Here, we show that silicate-phosphate immiscibility in volcanic melts could have provided a widely available mechanism for the local enrichment of phosphate. Starting with a phosphorus-enriched Archean melt, we observe that rapid cooling results in the formation of immiscible glassy droplets with up to 21 weight % phosphorus pentoxide, which can be delivered to the surface by volcanic processes. In aqueous leaching, we detect millimolar phosphate concentrations, which enable the synthesis of phosphorylating agents such as polyphosphates and imidazole phosphate with up to 34% yield. These results demonstrate how volcanic processes can enrich phosphate to fuel prebiotic chemistry.

Identifiers

PMID41259514
PMCPMC12629179

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.