Phosphorus, along with nitrogen and carbon, is crucial for life on Earth, playing a key role in DNA, RNA, and energy production. Scientists have long puzzled over how life could have arisen with the limited availability of phosphorus. Recent research suggests that large soda lakes, like Mono Lake in California, could have maintained high concentrations of phosphorus needed for prebiotic chemistry and the development of life. Earth scientist Craig Walton’s study proposes that these lakes, with constant high phosphorus supplies due to evaporation without natural runoff, could have been the ideal environment for the origin of life on Earth billions of years ago.
https://ethz.ch/en/news-and-events/eth-news/news/2025/03/were-large-soda-lakes-the-cradle-of-life.html