|
Study: Life on Earth May Have Been Seeded by Ancient Meteorites
|
View this Thread in Original format
| Renegade |
| quote: | GENETIC material from space found in a meteorite in Australia may have played a key role in the origin of life on Earth.
In a study published today, European and US scientists prove that two pieces of genetic coding contained in the meteor fragment are truly extraterrestrial.
Previous studies had suggested the space rocks, which hit earth about 40 years ago, might have been contaminated upon impact. Both of the molecules identified, nucleobases uracil and xanthine, "are present in our DNA", said lead author Zita Martins, a researcher at Imperial College London.
The molecules would also have been essential to the still-mysterious alchemy that somehow gave rise, about 4 billion years ago, to life itself.
"We know that meteorites very similar to the Murchison meteorite, which is the one we analysed, were delivering the building blocks of life to earth 3.8 to 4.5 billion years ago," Dr Martins said.
Competing theories suggest nucleobases were synthesised closer to home, but Dr Martins said the atmospheric conditions of early Earth would have rendered that process difficult or impossible.
A team of European and US scientists showed that the two types of molecules in the Australian meteorite contained a heavy form of carbon, carbon 13, which could only have been formed in space.
"We believe early life may have adopted nucleobases from meteoric fragments for use in genetic coding, enabling them to pass on their successful features to subsequent generations," Dr Martins said.
If so, this would have been the start of an evolutionary process leading over billions of years to all the flora and fauna, including human beings, in existence today.
The study, published in Earth Planetary Science Letters, also has implications for life on other planets.
"Because meteorites represent leftover materials from the formation of the solar system, the key components of life - including nucleobases - could be widespread in the cosmos," co-author Mark Sephton said. |
http://www.theage.com.au/national/w...80614-2qoz.html
Sweet. |
|
|
| pkcRAISTLIN |
| but did meteorites build the pyramids? :toothless |
|
|
| tathi |
| where the are the aussie scientists? drinking beer and scratching their arses? :rolleyes: |
|
|
| Fir3start3r |
| All hail The Andromeda Strain...:disbelief |
|
|
| Magnetonium |
That was one hell of a meteorite [size-wise] that gave life to Earth. |
|
|
| Lira |
| quote: | Originally posted by tathi
where the are the aussie scientists? drinking beer and scratching their arses? :rolleyes: |
Yeah, I noticed that too :conf: |
|
|
| trewqy |
I thought this was the accepted theory on how life came about on earth.
OLD NEWS. |
|
|
| Magnetonium |
Meteorites dont just crash into Earth and pour out zillions of cubic litres of water and Halleluyah. That sounds stupid. It would make more sense if Earth was a one large "meteorite" at first.
Besides, where does the water on the meteorites come from?
Or maybe I am just missing a point somewhere. I need someone to explain this development a bit more. |
|
|
| Fledz |
| quote: | Originally posted by Magnetonium
Meteorites dont just crash into Earth and pour out zillions of cubic litres of water and Halleluyah. That sounds stupid. It would make more sense if Earth was a one large "meteorite" at first.
Besides, where does the water on the meteorites come from?
Or maybe I am just missing a point somewhere. I need someone to explain this development a bit more. |
What water? It's talking about genetic code, which through mutations or mixture with other genetic codes could create DNA. It's seems feasible. |
|
|
| Kinezi |
| It must be some sick dirty metiorite. |
|
|
|
|
