Earliest Genetic Material May Have Come From The Stars
Scientists discovered molecules that are the precursor to the molecules that make up DNA and RNA in the Murchison meteorite, which crashed in Australia in 1969.
Further tests showed that the molecules were not the result of contamination from Earth.
Dr Zita Martins, of the Department of Earth Science and Engineering at Imperial College London, says "We believe early life may have adopted nucleobases from meteoritic fragments for use in genetic coding which enabled them to pass on their successful features to subsequent generations."
Around 4 billion years ago, similar objects rained down upon our planet, a time when early life was beginning to take hold.
According to Professor Mark Sephton, also of Imperial College London's Department of Earth Science and Engineering, "Because meteorites represent left over materials from the formation of the solar system, the key components for life -- including nucleobases -- could be widespread in the cosmos. As more and more of life's raw materials are discovered in objects from space, the possibility of life springing forth wherever the right chemistry is present becomes more likely."
A copy of the research paper can be downloaded here.
Further tests showed that the molecules were not the result of contamination from Earth.
Dr Zita Martins, of the Department of Earth Science and Engineering at Imperial College London, says "We believe early life may have adopted nucleobases from meteoritic fragments for use in genetic coding which enabled them to pass on their successful features to subsequent generations."
Around 4 billion years ago, similar objects rained down upon our planet, a time when early life was beginning to take hold.
According to Professor Mark Sephton, also of Imperial College London's Department of Earth Science and Engineering, "Because meteorites represent left over materials from the formation of the solar system, the key components for life -- including nucleobases -- could be widespread in the cosmos. As more and more of life's raw materials are discovered in objects from space, the possibility of life springing forth wherever the right chemistry is present becomes more likely."
A copy of the research paper can be downloaded here.
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