First amino acid on a comet found

An amino acid has been found on a comet for the first time, a new analysis of samples from NASA's Stardust mission reveals. The discovery confirms that some of the building blocks of life were delivered to the early Earth from space.

Amino acids are crucial to life because they form the basis of proteins, the molecules that run cells. The acids form when organic, carbon-containing compounds and water are zapped with a source of energy, such as photons – a process that can take place on Earth or in space.

New Scientist Article
Universe Today article

Another confirmation of what we already had theorised, looks to me like the building blocks for life are everywhere when you think about it...


[edit on 17/8/09 by refuse_orders]

reply to post by refuse_orders


As I said last week, every day it seems we find something else proving that life is not a 'miracle', in fact it is probably QUITE common.

Reply to post by refuse_orders

Yes, I heard about this. If I'm not mistaken it was the amino acid glycine. It's not really surprising. They had found traces of amino acids in meteorites previously...why not comets too?


Posted Via ATS Mobile: m.abovetopsecret.com

reply to post by refuse_orders


yeah, it seems that amino acids self assemble all over the place, not really shocking when you think they're made of little things that float around untill they meet something they can stick too - a few of these in a line makes 'the building blocks of life'

What will be interesting is if they can show that the chain reaction's which lead to a self replicating system are in progress - then we could fairly safely state that the universe is poitively teaming with 'life'

You know what has been bugging me lately about all their discoveries like this and all the planets they've found that could harbor life, well, it's the fact that all we they see is in the past. We don't really know what is out there now. Yet they talk like itis now instead of saying we know this but it happened so long ago, we have no idea what is out there now.
Is it just me that is frustrated with this? I want to know what is happening out there in real time !!!

Originally posted by jkrog08
reply to post by refuse_orders

 

As I said last week, every day it seems we find something else proving that life is not a 'miracle', in fact it is probably QUITE common.

Hold up a second here. I have no problem with life out there at all, and think it is probably pretty common. What a waste it would be otherwise.

But where do you get this "miracle" statement, and how would how common something is change such a thing? Seems with the billions of life forms on this planet alone, "common" would be a given. If anything, it's just a matter of "what took you so long" to anyone who thought we were the only life in the universe previously.

reply to post by refuse_orders


This is huge news. Now only if NASA would get the "GO" to admit they found fossilized bacteria on Mars. Then NASA send a probe to Europa's water surface.

Let the human race stretch their spacelegs.

"The discovery of glycine in a comet supports the idea that the fundamental building blocks of life are prevalent in space, and strengthens the argument that life in the universe may be common rather than rare," said Carl Pilcher, director of the NASA Astrobiology Institute, which co-funded the research.

I thought this was a rather interesting how NASA is implying that life might be common out there.

So about these amino acids... Yeah, they're rudimentary building blocks, but this is what gets me thinking:

These amino acids were found in a comet. They say comets were our source of water on Earth.

Didn't they just say recently that life may have started in the ocean after all? Is anyone else connecting these dots?

So we see that these amino acids are nothing by themselves. But once they get to Earth, perhaps it's the enviornment that sparks life.

Just my thoughts, but if this is even close to being correct, then I say that life is indeed out there, and we are not an accident...

NASA Researchers Make First Discovery of Life's Building Block in Comet

PASADENA, Calif. -- NASA scientists have discovered glycine, a fundamental building block of life, in samples of comet Wild 2 returned by NASA's Stardust spacecraft.

"Glycine is an amino acid used by living organisms to make proteins, and this is the first time an amino acid has been found in a comet," said Jamie Elsila of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. "Our discovery supports the theory that some of life's ingredients formed in space and were delivered to Earth long ago by meteorite and comet impacts."

Elsila is the lead author of a paper on this research accepted for publication in the journal Meteoritics and Planetary Science. The research was presented during the meeting of the American Chemical Society at the Marriott Metro Center in Washington, D.C., August 16.

"The discovery of glycine in a comet supports the idea that the fundamental building blocks of life are prevalent in space, and strengthens the argument that life in the universe may be common rather than rare," said Carl Pilcher, director of the NASA Astrobiology Institute, which co-funded the research.

www.jpl.nasa.gov...

You were first... I will play here Just can't keep up with all the threads

Originally posted by impaired
So we see that these amino acids are nothing by themselves. But once they get to Earth, perhaps it's the enviornment that sparks life.

Nothing? They are complex molecules... they are the key to carbon based life forms...

In chemistry, an amino acid is a molecule containing both amine and carboxyl functional groups. These molecules are particularly important in biochemistry, where this term refers to alpha-amino acids with the general formula H2NCHRCOOH, where R is an organic substituent.[1] In the alpha amino acids, the amino and carboxylate groups are attached to the same carbon atom, which is called the α–carbon. The various alpha amino acids differ in which side chain (R group) is attached to their alpha carbon.

en.wikipedia.org...




To find these on a random comet which is supposedly just a dirty snowball is very important

Of course, if comets are debris from an ancient planet that exploded that had live but we won't go there

Originally posted by sickofitall2012now instead of saying we know this but it happened so long ago, we have no idea what is out there now.
Is it just me that is frustrated with this? I want to know what is happening out there in real time !!!

Ummm that would be finding the amino acid on the comet... that was 'here and now' Well okay it was 2006 but what the heck is three years eh?

I guess I should have started a thread instead of tying to discuss this very important discovery in a post...

www.abovetopsecret.com...

Interesting how not a single reply was made and no one wanted to even discuss the issue.

I think that it is not a new discovery but another step towards disclosure, breaking it to the gp gradually.

reply to post by zorgon


According to the reports they said that at first they were not certain that they were getting accurate data, that they had to make sure that the materials were not part of earth simply picked up on the test plates.

I guess they would know if it would have originated from this planet or even Mars at some earlier stage. Otherwise, a more recent ejection of comet material, such as from some type of impact. Isn't a comet composed of water and dirt? or am I just speculating? Ok, nevermind.

[edit on 19-8-2009 by aleon1018]

Originally posted by antar
According to the reports they said that at first they were not certain that they were getting accurate data, that they had to make sure that the materials were not part of earth simply picked up on the test plates.

Well no big surprise there..

We ARE talking NASA after all

Never Admit Seeing Anything

Originally posted by antar
Interesting how not a single reply was made and no one wanted to even discuss the issue.

There is another thread on it and look at the replies in here... they don't care. Its not a Martian in a saucer

Everything about Glycine

en.wikipedia.org...

reply to post by zorgon


Well, I stand corrected. Shoulda done me research...

S&F
Ohhhh, I can't wait for the fundies to get ahold of this!



This story just "converted" a large number of creationists to the dark side.
Of course, those will only be the better thinkers of the bunch.
And they'll just revise their stance. But this is still HUGE!