"All three meteorites contain a very complex mixture of organic molecules, most of which have not yet been identified," Glavin said.Įarth formed roughly 4.5 billion years ago. Carbon is a primary constituent of organisms on Earth. They are carbon-rich, with the Murchison and Murray meteorites containing about two per cent organic carbon by weight and the Tagish Lake meteorite containing about four per cent organic carbon. #ThrowbackThursday #tbt /yy9ReYgpUC- three are classified as carbonaceous chondrites, made of rocky material thought to have formed early in the solar system's history. Scanning electron microscope photo shows framboidal (raspberry-like) crystals of magnetite. On the morning of Janua blue-green fireball streaked through the sky & crashed into frozen Lake Tagish, in NW BC. Nucleobases are nitrogen-containing compounds crucial in forming DNA's characteristic double-helix structure.Ĭonfirmation of an extraterrestrial origin of a complete set of nucleobases found in DNA and RNA buttresses the theory that meteorites could have been an important source of organic compounds necessary for the emergence of Earth's first living organisms, according to astrobiologist and study co-author Danny Glavin of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland. Unlike in previous work, the methods used this time were more sensitive and did not use strong acids or hot liquid to extract the five components, known as nucleobases, according to astrochemist Yasuhiro Oba of Hokkaido University's Institute of Low Temperature Science in Japan, lead author of the study published in the journal Nature Communications. Researchers said on Tuesday they have now identified the final two after fine-tuning the way they analyzed the meteorites.
Scientists had previously detected on these meteorites three of the five chemical components needed to form DNA, the molecule that carries genetic instructions in living organisms, and RNA, the molecule crucial for controlling the actions of genes. A fresh examination of meteorites that landed in the United States, Canada and Australia is bolstering the notion that early in Earth's history, such objects may have delivered chemical ingredients vital for the advent of life.
0 kommentar(er)
