Antarctica Meteorite May Explain Beginning Of Life On Earth

A meteorite discovered in Antarctica may help to reveal how life on earth began.

Many theories suggest that Earth initially did not possess the molecules needed to begin primitive life. Thus, scientists have been searching for what caused life on earth to begin.

One theory holds that collisions between asteroids produced meteoroids, which carried materials to Earth. Meteorite expert Dr. Caroline Smith believes one element that earth needed for life was nitrogen, which is in ammonia. She tells BBC News, "A lot of the evidence shows that ammonia was not present in much abundance in the early Earth, so where did it come from?"

Enter meteorite Grave Nunataks 95229. The meteorite was discovered in 1995, and a powder sample reveals that the meteorite contains nitrogen, the same element found in proteins and DNA that originate life.

Based on this finding, researchers published a revealing report in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Lead researcher Professor Sandra Pizzarello believes that meteorites "could have showered the Earth with an attractive mix of components, including a large amount of ammonia." Given enough nitrogen, these meteorites may have given earth the ability to form primitive life. As BBC News explains, meteorites may have provided "the missing ingredients for life."

Other findings have recently offered explanations as to how life on Earth began and evolved. An asteroid covered in ice, 24 Themis, may reveal how Earth first got its water. The same asteroid contained organic molecules, which also could have contributed to life on earth.

New research may be bringing us closer to discovering the world's most important secret ingredient.

Comments

[MikeyJaii]

09:06 PM on 03/31/2011

It may also be how bacteria and diseases came.

[WasteNJ]

08:40 AM on 03/07/2011

I'm sure some meteors do contain alien DNA, but as far as what's responsible for seeding the Earth with genetic material, we can't overlook the planet that collided with primitive Earth and resulted in "modern" Earth and the moon's creation.

Prior to this even the Earth was much larger, and the material from both planets was combined to a certain extent, With internal rock from Earth becoming the Moon, and the remainder of the debris from this event forming up with the asteroid belt beyond Mars. This is also why the moon is made from all the same things that are on Earth. Now as Earth cooled, it was also bombarded by remnants of this event as well as other debris from the chaotic solar system of that time, but much of that material was once part of this other planet. (Ancient texts refer to it as Niburu)

[metaluna]

12:45 PM on 03/06/2011

Organic compounds are very abundant in the space between stars, especially within nebulae. This stuff is the required raw material for the formation of life. Couple this fact with the latest data coming our of the search for extrasolar planets, which suggest that within our galaxy alone there may be billions of worlds within the so-called Goldilocks zone from their parent suns and it wouldn't be a huge leap to speculate that life itself is the rule rather than a rare exception, or even limited to just this single world. Far from being the center of the universe we're just one more world lying two thirds of the way along a spiral arm of a galaxy teeming with life.

[mamacat]

06:58 AM on 03/06/2011

While on the subject of asteroids;

NASA is reporting that very newly discovered asteroid 2011EY11 has been projected to pass less than 1/3rd the distance from the Earth to the moon on March 7th. It has been determined to be 9 meters in diameter.

[fiberoptimist]

10:00 PM on 03/05/2011

Asteroids and comets always remind me of giant sperm and the earth is kind of egg shaped. So that's my theory of how life began on earth, and I'm sticken' to it ;)

[Indra]

12:52 PM on 03/06/2011

Yeah why not!

[by-the-sea-]

01:52 PM on 03/05/2011

No, no, no!! We were created when God made Adam out of dust, then used Adam's rib to create a partner for him, Eve. Right? That sounds so plausible and convincing!!

[Indra]

12:52 PM on 03/06/2011

Yes, Adam-dust- Eve- Vacuum cleaners. It all makes sense to me.

[by-the-sea-]

09:43 PM on 03/06/2011

Haha!! :)

[Steve Rockett]

01:18 AM on 03/05/2011

I knew this. Don't you remember I told you that I thought this was what caused life? Aw come on, you remember. You and I were sitting at the bar and you were getting pretty drunk and I just had this flash about ammonia and I think I wrote it on a coctail napkin. Aw shoot, now I remember, you threw the napkin away. Darn it, that was my proof. Hey, look if I ask you to swear that I knew this before anyone else, will you support me? Come on, you remember.

[Js420]

09:05 PM on 03/04/2011

more convincing than the creator theory

[WasteNJ]

08:43 AM on 03/07/2011

The "creator theory" is only a metaphor for Extra Terrestrial intervention on Earth in ancient times. All ancient religious texts refer to visitors from the skies, described through the eyes of a primitive (by comparison) man. Of course, these visitors were described as Gods, and what they did, as explained to man, is what's in all those religious books...

[OkieMon]

05:57 PM on 03/04/2011

certainly icy comets gave the primordial earth much of its water.....life molecules also likely located in comets.....

[colah]

03:02 PM on 03/04/2011

I wonder which meteorite had the Glen Beck molecule in it?
Coulda done without that one.

[Julie Sinclair]

08:18 AM on 03/04/2011

panspermia

[TulsaMikel]

09:14 AM on 03/04/2011

I think people like that word too much.

[jsarets]

05:32 AM on 03/04/2011

Oh, no!

The launch of NASA's Glory satellite has just failed. The payload faring on the Taurus XL launch vehicle failed to separate, which is the exact same thing that happened on the previous Taurus XL launch attempt which doomed NASA's Orbiting Carbon Observatory (OCO) mission.

Glory was supposed to investigate the climatological effects of atmospheric aerosols and measure the incoming and outgoing solar radiation over the earth.

This makes three failures out of the last four launch attempts of Orbital Sciences' Taurus XL rocket. Orbital claimed they had found and corrected the root cause of the payload faring issue on the OCO mission, but clearly they have not. NASA should decertify this launch vehicle for NASA missions until Orbital conducts a successful flight test.

[loki]

09:52 PM on 03/03/2011

The Jehovah Seed

many will try to enter the earth seed.

few will make it.

[axt113]

12:05 AM on 03/05/2011

ROFL, no god involved in this, just science

[AbstractImp]

09:11 PM on 03/03/2011

Remember,
this is 'how'.
There is no 'why'.

[Aaron Pozdol]

12:59 AM on 03/07/2011

You're absolutely right - there really is no "why".

[satanlite]

08:45 PM on 03/03/2011

The Jesus Germ

[axt113]

12:05 AM on 03/05/2011

More like proof of science over religion

[WasteNJ]

08:47 AM on 03/07/2011

Religion was man's attempt to describe events beyond his understanding. The "Gods" described in ancient texts as coming from the skies are still around, we just describe them differently these days... or choose not to acknowledge them.