Related Experiment Video
Updated: Sep 20, 2025

Simulation of the Planetary Interior Differentiation Processes in the Laboratory
Published on: November 15, 2013
Urability: A Property of Planetary Bodies That Can Support an Origin of Life
David Deamer1, Francesca Cary2, Bruce Damer1
1Department of Biomolecular Engineering, University of California, Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, California, USA.
Abstract:
The concept of habitability is now widely used to describe zones in a solar system in which planets with liquid water can sustain life. Because habitability does not explicitly incorporate the origin of life, this article proposes a new word-urability-which refers to the conditions that allow life to begin. The utility of the word is tested by applying it to combinations of multiple geophysical and geochemical factors that support plausible localized zones that are conducive to the chemical reactions and molecular assembly processes required for the origin of life. The concept of urable worlds, planetary bodies that can sustain an arising of life, is considered for bodies in our own solar system and exoplanets beyond.
More Related Videos
06:29Simulation of Early Earth Hydrothermal Chimneys in a Thermal Gradient Environment
Published on: February 27, 2021
10:03Investigating the Detrimental Effects of Low Pressure Plasma Sterilization on the Survival of Bacillus subtilis Spores Using Live Cell Microscopy
Published on: November 30, 2017
Related Concept Videos
Conditions on Early Earth
States of Water
Water freezes when the intermolecular forces are greater than the kinetic energy. Unlike most other substances, water is less dense in its solid state than in its liquid state. This is because each water molecule can form...
Acceleration due to Gravity on Other Planets
Astronomical observations are thus used to measure the acceleration due to gravity on other planets. This can be determined by observing the effect of a planet's gravity on objects close to it. The crucial factor that helps in this...
Endospores and Sporulation
Kepler's First Law of Planetary Motion
Polish astronomer Nikolaus Copernicus put forth a theory that stated a heliocentric model for the solar system. According to this heliocentric theory, all the planets, including Earth, orbit the Sun in circular orbits.
On the other hand,...
The Colonization of Land