Scientists claim that all of the components of human DNA have now been discovered on meteorites. Why does this matter? Simply put, life on Earth may have originated from space.
Scientists reported in Nature Communications on April 26 that the five basic components that store information in DNA and RNA were present in space rocks that crashed into Earth over the past century.
The genetic code of all life on Earth is made up of the five “nucleobases” adenine, guanine, cytosine, thymine, and uracil, as well as a few sugars and phosphates.
Two critical DNA and RNA components have been found in this rock, a 2-gram fragment of the 1969 meteorite that crashed in Murchison, Australia, for the first time ever found in an extraterrestrial source, according to researchers.
These elements are thought to have either come from space or grown on Earth in an early, hot soup, according to scientists. The earlier theory now has greater support thanks to these fresh discoveries.
Adenine, guanine are among the few compounds that were found in meteorites since the 1960s, scientists say. Traces of uracil were also picked up, but cytosine and thymine still remain “elusive,” Science News reported.
Daniel Glavin from N.A.S.A’s Goddard Space Flight Center said that they’ve “completed the set of all the bases found in DNA and RNA and life on Earth” and that “they’re present in meteorites.”
The study was undertaken by Yasuhiro Oba’s team from Hokkaido University in Japan and astrochemists at N.A.S.A. A few years ago, Oba developed a technique to delicately excavate and separate different chemical compounds found in meteorite dust.
Using their mild extraction technique that uses cold water instead of acids, scientists found life-creating bases and compounds in four meteorite samples from Australia, US state of Kentucky, and Canadian province of British Columbia.
The discovery of these compounds in meteorites means that it is possible life on Earth as it stands today was created by compounds that came from outer space.
What do you think about this discovery? Let us know in the comments below.
