report today: Scientists Confirm that Life Really Could Have Come from Out of This World

Interesting report made available today on the origins of life on Earth, this report confirms my long held opinions on this often contentious subject.


Comets contain elements such as water, ammonia, methanol and carbon dioxide that could have supplied the raw materials, in which upon impact on early Earth would have yielded an abundant supply of energy to produce amino acids and jump start life.

scitechdaily.com...

A newly published study shows that the basic building blocks of life as we know it can be assembled anywhere in the Solar System, confirming that life on Earth really could have come from out of this world.

Scientists have discovered a ‘cosmic factory’ for producing the building blocks of life, amino acids, according to research.

The team from Imperial College London, the University of Kent and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory have discovered that when icy comets collide into a planet, amino acids can be produced. These essential building blocks are also produced if a rocky meteorite crashes into a planet with an icy surface.

The researchers suggest that this process provides another piece to the puzzle of how life was kick-started on Earth, after a period of time between 4.5 and 3.8 billion years ago when the planet had been bombarded by comets and meteorites.

The research is published today in the journal Nature Geoscience.

Dr Zita Martins, co-author of the paper from the Department of Earth Science and Engineering at Imperial College London, says: “Our work shows that the basic building blocks of life can be assembled anywhere in the Solar System and perhaps beyond. However, the catch is that these building blocks need the right conditions in order for life to flourish. Excitingly, our study widens the scope for where these important ingredients may be formed in the Solar System and adds another piece to the puzzle of how life on our planet took root.”

Dr Mark Price, co-author from the University of Kent, adds: “This process demonstrates a very simple mechanism whereby we can go from a mix of simple molecules, such as water and carbon-dioxide ice, to a more complicated molecule, such as an amino acid. This is the first step towards life. The next step is to work out how to go from an amino acid to even more complex molecules such as proteins.”

The abundance of ice on the surfaces of Enceladus and Europa, which are moons orbiting Saturn and Jupiter respectively, could provide a perfect environment for the production of amino acids, when meteorites crash into their surface, say the researchers. Their work further underlines the importance of future space missions to these moons to search for signs of life.

The researchers discovered that when a comet impacts on a world it creates a shock wave that generates molecules that make up amino acids. The impact of the shock wave also generates heat, which then transforms these molecules into amino acids.

The team made their discovery by recreating the impact of a comet by firing projectiles through a large high speed gun. This gun, located at the University of Kent, uses compressed gas to propel projectiles at speeds of 7.15 kilometers per second into targets of ice mixtures, which have a similar composition to comets. The resulting impact created amino acids such as glycine and D-and L-alanine.

A group of international scientists including a Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory researcher have confirmed that life really could have come from out of this world.

The team shock compressed an icy mixture, similar to what is found in comets, which then created a number of amino acids – the building blocks of life. The research appears in advanced online publication Sept. 15 on the Nature Geosciences journal website.

This is the first experimental confirmation of what LLNL scientist Nir Goldman first predicted in 2010 and again in 2013 using computer simulations performed on LLNL’s supercomputers, including Rzcereal and Aztec.

Goldman’s initial research found that the impact of icy comets crashing into Earth billions of years ago could have produced a variety of prebiotic or life-building compounds, including amino acids. Amino acids are critical to life and serve as the building blocks of proteins. His work predicted that the simple molecules found in comets (such as water, ammonia, methanol and carbon dioxide) could have supplied the raw materials, and the impact with early Earth would have yielded an abundant supply of energy to drive this prebiotic chemistry.

In the new work, collaborators from Imperial College in London and University of Kent conducted a series of experiments very similar to Goldman’s previous simulations in which a projectile was fired using a light gas gun into a typical cometary ice mixture. The result: Several different types of amino acids formed.

“These results confirm our earlier predictions of impact synthesis of prebiotic material, where the impact itself can yield life-building compounds,” Goldman said. “Our work provides a realistic additional synthetic production pathway for the components of proteins in our solar system, expanding the inventory of locations where life could potentially originate.”

Comets are known to harbor simple ices and the organic precursors of amino acids. Glycine – the simplest amino acid – was recently confirmed to be present in comet Wild-2.

Goldman’s original work used molecular dynamics simulations to show that shock waves due to planetary impact passing into representative comet mixtures could theoretically drive amino acid synthesis. This synthetic mechanism could yield a wide variety of prebiotic molecules at realistic impact conditions, independent of the external features or pre-existing chemical environment on a planet.

“These results present a significant step forward in our understanding of the origin of the building blocks of life,” Goldman said.

The team found that icy bodies with the same compounds created from comet impacts also may be found in the outer solar system. For example, Encleadus (one of Saturn’s moons) contains a mix of light organics and water ice. The team concluded that it is highly probable that the impact of a comet traveling with a high enough velocity would impart enough energy to promote shock synthesis of more complex organic compounds, including amino acids, from these ices.

“This increases the chances of life originating and being widespread throughout our solar system,” Goldman said.

Source: Anne M Stark, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

The research publication

reply to post by theabsolutetruth

Scientists have discovered a ‘cosmic factory’ for producing the building blocks of life, amino acids, according to research.

"cosmic factory" huh? Yeah the solar system is so abundant with life, I don't know how they can be wrong!! ....(new emotes are retarded mods...hint hint)

People actually believe this stuff, that is the worst part of these "scientific" studies!! People are willing to believe that this is all random?? Just the sheer numbers, distances, magnetic forces, humans, etc...This is not by chance from a "cosmic factory" of life! Science....what a complete joke sometimes!

reply to post by Chrisfishenstein


Perhaps you re referring to Creationist theories.

My opinion on this is that even if there were a Creator, perhaps they also created such potentials for life in these asteroids.

If there was / is a Creator, were /are they not also the Creator of the rest of the planets and Solar System or even Universe?

Just because the building blocks for life could have existed elsewhere in the Universe prior to Earth doesn't rule out possibilities of a Creator.

How do you otherwise theorise the basics required for life being on Earth, if not from from elsewhere in the Universe, remember Earth and the planets are Universal bodies, part of the Universe that were once something other than they are now.

There are stars, comets, planets and energies in the Universe that science is just learning about, though we can see that the Universe is vast and expanding and that the Milky Way, the Solar System and Earth is a very very small area of the Universe.

The chances of life appearing independently on each planet without any interaction with the surrounding Universe is statistically extremely unlikely.

The chances of the origins of life on Earth, the Solar System, the Milky Way, other Solar Systems, and galaxies, stemming from beyond their immediate vicinity is statistically very likely.

I am borderline here. I believe in evolution and science but apart of me also knows there is a higher power that is unknown to man. I don't believe in "GOD" in the biblical sense (I'll save this for another thread), however it is also obvious that the universe came about in a scientific manner and didn't just magically appear. Perhaps the creator used evolution as a guideline to create everything in existence? There is a natural order to everything.

+1 star OP

~Sovereign

reply to post by theabsolutetruth


I understand your reasoning, but if this were the case don't you think other planets would have life? Especially near us if you are talking about the "scientific" times as when there were comets/asteroids blasting our solar system to make it what they claim it is now.....It is too perfect to be chance....

If you are stating our creator made us this way, I find it not feasible....If you think about God and making the earth, making the universe, etc....God could make things from nothing, why would God need a meteor/asteroid to impact earth with the building blocks to start life?

As a creationist, this makes no sense why this would be needed.

reply to post by SovereignEve


This is something similar to my belief, the science view, but I also believe in a Higher Power of sorts but not in the organised religion that I know of sense.

There is a natural order that is intelligent, it conforms to patterns and design, which hints at something organising matter in a very natural way, a way that is set into every DNA and subatomic structure.

That 'something' has yet to be established, truly IMO.

reply to post by Chrisfishenstein


Then maybe you could give us a scientifically informed breakdown of exactly what they did wrong.

As a creationist, this makes no sense why this would be needed.

I think that's the point. It was a meteor, asteroid, whatever. Not an anthropomorphic grandfatherly intelligence.

Chrisfishenstein
reply to post by theabsolutetruth

 

I understand your reasoning, but if this were the case don't you think other planets would have life? Especially near us if you are talking about the "scientific" times as when there were comets/asteroids blasting our solar system to make it what they claim it is now.....It is too perfect to be chance....

If you are stating our creator made us this way, I find it not feasible....If you think about God and making the earth, making the universe, etc....God could make things from nothing, why would God need a meteor/asteroid to impact earth with the building blocks to start life?

As a creationist, this makes no sense why this would be needed.

I think if there was/is a Creator, than that Creator is Universal rather than Earth specific.

The bigger picture needs to be seen, perhaps there is more to the Universe than we know of, more Universes or a higher Universe that controls the one we know of for example.

Chrisfishenstein
reply to post by theabsolutetruth

 

I understand your reasoning, but if this were the case don't you think other planets would have life? Especially near us if you are talking about the "scientific" times as when there were comets/asteroids blasting our solar system to make it what they claim it is now.....It is too perfect to be chance....

If you are stating our creator made us this way, I find it not feasible....If you think about God and making the earth, making the universe, etc....God could make things from nothing, why would God need a meteor/asteroid to impact earth with the building blocks to start life?

As a creationist, this makes no sense why this would be needed.

So as a "creationist" would'nt the same argument apply as to why life is not on other planets close to us. Why are so many planets created to without life..to be just a waste of space?

reply to post by toktaylor


You say "why were planets created with no life" -- Simple, life won't form on EVERY planet. Perhaps there was life on the planets that show "no life" in present day, but there was millions or billions of years ago? Earth has an expiration date as well. I forgot when exactly, but it is known that eventually our sun will expand and make Earth inhabitable -- of course this is going to happen way past your lifetime, but still. At our current technological stage as a species we don't have the capability to physically explore other worldly planets outside our solar system, heck, we barely have a remote controlled ROVER on MARS let alone sending man outside the solar system safely. Who knows to, the way life formed and thrives on Earth could be completely different on other planets. . . We are in no state to make such harsh and quick judgments. In fact, the best we can do is remain open-minded and keep moving forward with our research and eventually send out man on missions. . . . .they say space is the final frontier

~Sovereign

reply to post by SovereignEve


Did you even bother reading the post Tok was replying to? His/her post was answering the creationist angle of this subject. Context is very important. Keep that in mind.

reply to post by SovereignEve


Agree, and your theory support the "evolution" theory rather than the "creationist" whereas life came about when the condtionions are right for life and life will cease to exists when the condition can no longer support life...

reply to post by theabsolutetruth


People seem to think that just because something isn't self-destructive, it must be intelligent. Does intelligent always equate with survival or success? No, it does not. So a rock happened to survive two hundred thousand years. Holy crap, it must be intelligent! Or maybe it was intelligently designed! Or maybe its components simply behave according to their nature, which clearly isn't going to be a self-destructive nature or that rock would never have happened.

Think people! THINK! The universe lasted this long, obviously the resulting components are reasonably compatible with the laws they've found themselves contending with. Is this the result of intelligence? Oh, I don't know, are puddles intelligent because they are so compatible with potholes? Geez.

reply to post by AfterInfinity


My response is geared towards anyone who bared that question he had in his post in mind. Thanks for the response though . . .

~Sovereign

I don't understand why this thread hasn't gotten more attention. You would think people would be all over this kind of thing.

AfterInfinity
I don't understand why this thread hasn't gotten more attention. You would think people would be all over this kind of thing.

Probably because this topic keeps getting posted over and over, and the discussions are so fragmented that it's difficult to keep up with all the different threads on the same topic.

For instance, here's a thread from 2011 discussing virtually the same thing:

Building Blocks of DNA Found in Meteorites from Space


And I found several more from 2011, and found some from 2008.



It's basically like " *yawn* yes, they've been saying that same thing for years and years now".

reply to post by Chrisfishenstein


Just means its time for you to move the goal posts of creationism. Now you can just claim that a god made these meteors that supplied the raw materials for abiogenesis.

The only way to defend religious delusions is to keep following the gaps in knowledge and sticking in "god did it". Ignorance is their bread and butter.

reply to post by _BoneZ_


And if we keep finding more and more reasons to come back to that discussion, doesn't that lend it validity? What about panspermia is so hard to believe?

AfterInfinity
reply to post by theabsolutetruth

 

People seem to think that just because something isn't self-destructive, it must be intelligent. Does intelligent always equate with survival or success? No, it does not. So a rock happened to survive two hundred thousand years. Holy crap, it must be intelligent! Or maybe it was intelligently designed! Or maybe its components simply behave according to their nature, which clearly isn't going to be a self-destructive nature or that rock would never have happened.

Think people! THINK! The universe lasted this long, obviously the resulting components are reasonably compatible with the laws they've found themselves contending with. Is this the result of intelligence? Oh, I don't know, are puddles intelligent because they are so compatible with potholes? Geez.

edit on 16-9-2013 by AfterInfinity because: (no reason given)

When I say life is organised intelligently, I mean according to laws, patterns and specific requirements, for example H2O wouldn't be water were it not for the specific organisation of each molecular structure and their interactions, hence it is intelligent as opposed to random chaos, it doesn't mean intelligence as in the ability to think.

If there was no intelligence of arrangement of sub atomic particles, atoms, molecules etc then there wouldn't be life. The fact that these all have the ability for specific arrangements and interactions as opposed to completely random reactions, suggests there is an intelligent design going on, be it purposeful or otherwise.

It is organised and such specific organisation of every particle, atom and molecule for their SPECIFIC FUNCTION which all work together in creating life, really does suggest a higher power or Universal Force, or at least, all energy, particles, atoms, molecules etc are all part of something to which they belong and to whom their forces are binded to.

AfterInfinity
I don't understand why this thread hasn't gotten more attention. You would think people would be all over this kind of thing.

edit on 16-9-2013 by AfterInfinity because: (no reason given)

I think it is important, at least as a means of understanding the very basis of life and the machinations of how science is exploring fundamental particles and interactions that explain possibilities.

I guess there are a few creation /evolution threads recently, this is factual as in how it is possible but I guess some don't see such things as important.