If you heat up two simple acids—formic acid and oxalic acid—in a hot, pressurized water environment, they both make the same kind of fatty molecules, so either one could work as a starting material to make these lipids.

Evidence from Studies

Supporting (1)

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Lipid Synthesis Under Hydrothermal Conditions by Fischer- Tropsch-Type Reactions

Computational/Algorithm Study

In Vitro

1999 Mar

Scientists heated two acids—formic and oxalic—in hot water and found they both made the same types of fatty-like molecules, meaning either one can work as a starting material to make these compounds.

Contradicting (0)

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No contradicting evidence found

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Source Study

Lipid Synthesis Under Hydrothermal Conditions by Fischer- Tropsch-Type Reactions

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DOI: 10.1023/A:1006592502746

Similar Assertions

Under hot, watery conditions similar to those deep under the ocean, certain chemical reactions can make oily molecules similar to those found in living things — from very small ones to really big ones, including both plain oils and oils with oxygen in them.

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If you heat up formic acid or oxalic acid in a metal container at a high temperature for a couple of days, it can turn into a bunch of oily, waxy, or fatty substances similar to those found in living things.

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70%