Formaldehyde Linked to Origin of Life on Earth

When I began reading the article, it was full of the usual "may", "could", etc. But then, they say they actually succeeded in recreating organic molecules based on formaldehyde.
The idea is that formaldehyde created the organic molecules in space, and it brought life to Earth.

There was most likely more than one asteroid or comet with this, so all our planets might have been exposed to life's basic compounds and seeing it evolved in yet unexpected ways.

Now, was it a usual fabrication that could be seen in all the Universe?

ca.news.yahoo.com...

To test the idea that formaldehyde played a role, the scientists came up with a chemical reaction process that could create these compounds using formaldehyde as an initial ingredient. They then let that reaction run in the lab, and analyzed the results. The lab-created organic compounds bore striking similarities to those found in the carbonaceous chondrite meteorites, as well as to the organics in other primitive solar system material, such as samples collected from the comet 81P/Wild 2 from NASA's Stardust mission, as well as in interplanetary dust particles that likely originated from comets and asteroids.

We are a step closer to finally declaring that life is more common, or theoretically more common, than officially thought. As findings are made, it will become harder to avoid the question.

I always find stuff like this to be interesting.

The people who say (for whatever reason, is beyond me) that life ONLY exists on earth, this should be an eye opener. Not because I think it is 100% correct, but because it opens the possibility that "alien" races do NOT have to have the same conditions we have here on earth.

That has always bothered me, why, because life as we know it on THIS planet requires certain things, does one have the audacity to think its that way EVERYWHERE in the universe?

There may be a planet where organisms, or even intelligent life, thrives on and needs snicker bars for all we know.

Whereas formaldehyde is now explicitly linked with death?

Formaldehyde (like methanol) cannot be made non-toxic to us. To equate it with life boggles my mind since I equate it to storing dead animals and their organs as a preservative when I was younger. Matter of fact, formaldehyde is deemed so toxic that it is rarely used anymore as a storing agent due to the toxicity associated with us scientists doing our research.

Then again, what would I know? I'm sure when I received my degree in biochemistry it was just an afterthought.

reply to post by jewston


When I was young, life could only thrive under the same rules we do. Then they found organisms living in conditions totally different, like those living in the depth of the ocean with no lights, only heat and chemicals, and a new story began to be told...

It is a beginning. Slow, but going.

reply to post by bozzchem


I was also surprised, but then again, we can heal with deadly toxins and poisons.

I had the ironic thought of having a device which would launch formaldehyde everywhere once biological life has ceased on the planet.

I see two major advantages; It would give fuel for new life, and would preserve organisms for future generations to study and all...

Life and reality work in mysterious ways.

I didn't know it was less and less used. Good thing if we can cut on a poison!

I want to add that it is indeed strange to see that formaldehyde is reported to have been a basic item in creation of life, but we extract parts of natural items for many reasons. Put gas on your skin, it won't be good, but put petroleum jelly on it, and it'll be beneficial. Yet, they both are petroleum extracts.
Something along those lines must proceed naturally from formaldehyde in order for it to help create organic compounds. I wonder if all of it is used or if there are "leftovers", and what they could be.

Originally posted by jewston
I always find stuff like this to be interesting.

The people who say (for whatever reason, is beyond me) that life ONLY exists on earth, this should be an eye opener. Not because I think it is 100% correct, but because it opens the possibility that "alien" races do NOT have to have the same conditions we have here on earth.

That has always bothered me, why, because life as we know it on THIS planet requires certain things, does one have the audacity to think its that way EVERYWHERE in the universe?

There may be a planet where organisms, or even intelligent life, thrives on and needs snicker bars for all we know.

edit on 6-4-2011 by jewston because: (no reason given)

I gave you a star for sharing your wisdom in words that I couldn't have come up with to describe our shared ideas. Kudos for not being closed-minded.