Will Dunham

WASHINGTON (Reuters), a new examination of meteorites landing in Australia, Canada and the United States supports the idea that these objects could have brought to Earth chemical elements that were vital for life’s birth.

These meteorites had previously been identified by scientists as having three of five components that are required to make DNA. This is the chemical molecule which carries the genetic instructions for living organisms. RNA is the crucial component of controlling genes’ actions. Scientists claimed Tuesday that the two remaining components have been identified after refining how they analysed the meteorites.

According to Yasuhiro Oba, an astrochemist at Hokkaido University’s Institute of Low Temperature Science, Japan, who was the lead author of the Nature Communications study, this work is more sensitive than previous ones.

The most important nitrogen-containing substances are nucleobases, which help to form DNA’s distinctive double-helix structure.

The confirmation that a set of complete nucleobases was found in DNA, RNA and other sources is corroborating the hypothesis that meteorites might have provided the necessary organic compounds for Earth’s first human beings. This theory has been supported by Danny Glavin (astrobiologist with NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center) in Maryland.

Scientists are trying to understand how various chemicals came together in warm water to create a living organism that can reproduce. This milestone would mark the formation of DNA or RNA, which essentially contains instructions for building and operating living organisms.

Glavin explained that there is still much to know about the chemical reactions that caused the origin of life in Earth. This was also the first self reproducing system. This research adds to our knowledge of the chemical compounds found in Earth’s early prebiotic soup (previously, before life arose)

Three meteorites were examined by the researchers: One that struck near Murray in Kentucky in 1950; one that hit near Murchison in Australia’s Victoria State in 1969; and one that struck near Tagish Lake in Canada in 2000.

The three meteorites are carbonaceous and chondrites. They were made from rock material believed to have been formed in early times of the solar system’s history. Both are high in carbon. The Murchison, Murray and Tagish Lake meteorites contain about 2% of organic carbon per weight while the Tagish Lake meteorite contains about 4%. Carbon is an essential component in all living organisms.

Glavin explained that the three meteorites contained a highly complex mixture of organic molecules. However, many of them have not been identified.

Earth was formed approximately 4.5 billion years ago. It was bombarded by comets, meteorites and other space material in its early years. It was the first living organisms to have existed on the planet. They were primitive microbes that lived in primordial seas.

Researchers believe that the two nucleobases cytosine (or thymine) discovered in meteorites could have been missed in prior examinations due to their more fragile structure.

These five nucleobases are not the only necessary chemical compounds for living things. Other chemical compounds that are required for life include amino acids which make up proteins and enzymes and sugars which form the DNA backbone and the DNA.

Oba acknowledged that the current results might not provide a direct explanation of Earth’s origin, but that it could help us to better understand the composition of organic molecules in Earth’s early years before life began.