Our origins lie in chunks of icy comets, experts say.
How life came to be on Earth has long been a mystery. Scientists know much about the human body and DNA but up until now, they’ve always held the same ultimate question: where did all these ingredients for life come from in the first place?
If you’re religious, you likely already have your own answers to this fumbling question.
If you’re considering the science side, you may have felt left in a lurch, though. Until now, that is. The origins of our DNA just received a more detailed explanation.
A new study done by researchers at the University of York has shown the ingredients for making us and other living things might have all come from outer space. Just like Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young said, perhaps we really ARE just stardust.
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Researchers found that molecules brought to earth in meteorite strikes could potentially be converted into the building blocks of DNA. It’s thought that organic compounds called amino nitriles were able to use molecules present in interstellar ice to trigger the formation of the backbone molecule- 2-deoxy-D-ribose- of DNA.
So, where did the stuff in the ice come from? That’s another matter that requires more searching. For the moment, know that your chemical evolution could have originated in a Martian snowman taking a ride through the cosmos on a windy day. Not bad for a meandering Tuesday afternoon.
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