Tuesday, August 9, 2011

Nasa study: Life on Earth may be seeded by meteorites from space

Scientists have analysed meteorites that formed billions of years ago before falling to Earth.

The carbon-rich fragments were found to contain chemicals similar to one of the key components of DNA, the building blocks of life.

Tests show that the presence of these chemicals cannot be explained away by Earthly contamination, suggesting DNA’s origins may lie in outer space.

Previous studies found meteorites harbour the other two of the three basic ingredients of life.

These are amino acids, the ‘beads’ that form proteins when strung together, and chemicals needed to allow cells to create a membrane barrier. The chemicals in DNA are the third.

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