(Washington,
D.C.) In March of the year 2015, N.A.S.A.
reported that, it successfully formed complex organic compounds in a
laboratory. Additionally, the laboratory
environment successfully re-created outer space conditions. Adding fascination to everything is the fact
that, the formed complex organic compounds are found in, D.N.A. and R.N.A. In order to form the complex organic
compounds that contain D.N.A. and R.N.A., N.A.S.A. used starting
chemicals. One of these starting
chemicals, which were used, was pyrimidine.
The latter, is found in meteorites.
In January of the year 2018, other researchers reported that, they had
found liquid water and prebiotic complex organic substances. This discovery was made after studying, 4.5
billion year old meteorites. These
meteorites were found on the Planet Earth.
Recently, N.A.S.A. announced that, one of its international research teams
conducts studies on primitive asteroids.
Specifically, the aforementioned organization revealed that, it has
found sugars in meteorites.
Additionally, these sugars are essential to life. Furthermore, this new discovery adds to other
discoveries of biologically important compounds that, have been found in
meteorites.
Biologically important compounds
that are found in meteorites, help support a hypothesis that claims that,
chemical reactions in asteroids can make some of life’s ingredients. Fascinatingly, if this hypothesis is ever proven
correct, a meteorite bombardment of Ancient Earth is the origin of life. The latter is due to the fact that, the
meteorite bombardment supplied the Planet Earth, with life’s building blocks. However and returning to, meteorites, a
meteorite is a solid piece of debris from an object. Examples of the object are a comet, an
asteroid or a meteoroid. All of the
previously mentioned examples, originate in outer space. Additionally and somehow, a meteorite
survives a journey through the atmosphere.
The journey through the Earth’s atmosphere, for example; involves an
interaction with atmospheric gases that are then combined with friction,
pressure and other types of chemical interactions. The end result is that, a meteorite becomes a
meteor, and, it takes on the appearance of a fireball. A fireball, is also, referred to as a
shooting star or falling star. A
meteorite that falls to the Planet Earth, is also called, a meteorite
fall. Meanwhile, a meteorite that is
found in space is called a, meteorite find.
Returning to, the discovery of
sugars in meteorites, the importance of the aforementioned begins with an
enigma. The enigma is, how did biology
start from non-biological chemical processes?
For example, D.N.A. is the template for life. However, R.N.A. also carries with it
information. Fascinatingly, there are
some researchers who believe that R.N.A. evolved first. Then, R.N.A. was replaced by D.N.A. The argument is that, R.N.A. molecules have
capabilities that, D.N.A. doesn’t have.
Additionally, R.N.A. can make copies of itself, and, it has the ability
to speed up chemical reactions.
Therefore, R.N.A. is also a catalyst.
As a result, these researchers believe that R.N.A. coordinated the
machinery of life, before D.N.A. came into existence.
Continuing with, the discovery of
sugars in meteorites, the aforementioned is from a study of two
meteorites. The two meteorites are; NWA
801 (Type CR2), and, Murchison (Type CM2).
Additionally, these two meteorites are considered to be, rich in carbon. Specifically, what was found are ribose,
arabinose and xylose. The
aforementioned, are considered to be bio-essential sugars. The importance of ribose, is as follows. Ribose is an essential component of R.N.A.
(ribonucleic acid). Additionally, R.N.A.
functions as a messenger molecule. For
this role, it copies genetic instructions that, are found in D.N.A. molecules
(deoxyribonucleic acid). The
instructions are delivered to ribosomes, which are inside of a cell. The cell reads the R.N.A., and then, it
builds specific proteins that are needed to carry out life’s processes.
To end: this N.A.S.A. international research team was
or is funded by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science Kakenhi; the
National Institutes of Natural Sciences Astrobiology Center, Japan; the
Institute of Low Temperature Science; Hokkaido University; the Simons
Foundation and the N.A.S.A. Astrobiology Institute, Goddard Center for
Astrobiology. N.A.S.A. did release press
statements. Yoshihiro Furukawa is from
the Tohoku University
in Japan. Additionally, he is the lead author of the
published study. The latter, has been
published in the Proceedings of the National Academies of Science. Through a press statement, Mr. Furukawa said
the following. “Other important building
blocks of life have been found in meteorites previously, including amino acids
(components of proteins) and nucleobases (components of DNA and RNA), but
sugars have been a missing piece among the major building blocks of life. The research provides the first direct
evidence of ribose in space and the delivery of the sugar to Earth. The extraterrestrial sugar might have
contributed to the formation of RNA on the prebiotic Earth which possibly led
to the origin of life.” Jason Dworkin
and Danny Glavin are members of the Goddard
Center for Astrobiology Team. Additionally, they are co-authors of the
published study. Through a press
statement, Mr. Dworkin said the following.
“It is remarkable that a molecule as fragile as ribose could be detected
in such ancient material. These results
will help guide our analyses of pristine samples from primitive asteroids Ryugu
and Bennu, to be returned by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s Hayabusa
2 and NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft.”
Through a press statement, Mr. Glavin said the following. “The sugar in DNA (2-deoxyribose) was not
detected in any of the meteorites analyzed in this study. This is important since there could have been
a delivery bias of extraterrestrial ribose to the early Earth which is consistent
with the hypothesis that RNA evolved first.”
As previously stated, N.A.S.A. recently announced that, one of its
international research teams conducts studies on primitive asteroids. Specifically, the aforementioned organization
revealed that, it has found sugars in meteorites. Additionally, these sugars are essential to
life. Lastly and furthermore, this new
discovery adds to other discoveries of biologically important compounds that,
have been found in meteorites.
###
Written
from Press Release
Registered
Writer with
PR
Newswire Association, LLC
R-Berumen28
11/22/2019
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