High speed collision of comets produces amino acids

According to a simulation experiment conducted by Lin Xiaochun, a reporter from Xinhua news agency, US and British researchers, it shows that amino acids, the basic substance of life, can be produced in high-speed collisions, which provides experimental evidence for the theory that life on earth comes from space Comets are mainly composed of ice and simple molecules such as ammonia, methanol and carbon dioxide Neil Goldman of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and others have previously proposed that the huge energy released by comets when they hit the early Earth will synthesize these simple molecules into more complex amino acids Goldman and others report in the new online edition of Nature Geoscience that they, in collaboration with researchers from Imperial College of technology and the University of Kent, have created a comet like mixture of ice in the laboratory, and then shot at it with a special high-speed bullet at a speed of 7.15 kilometers per second The results show that high-speed impact not only produces amino acid molecules, but also generates heat to synthesize amino acids Their experiments produced glycine, D-alanine, L-Alanine and other amino acids Goldman said the results showed that their previous predictions were correct, indicating that there are new ways to synthesize protein components in the solar system, and that "a big step forward" in understanding the basic components of life But the researchers also said that the formation of complex molecules such as amino acids from single molecules such as water and dry ice was "the first step towards life." How amino acids form more complex molecules, such as proteins, and how these basic components form life and develop prosperity under appropriate conditions are still unsolved The researchers also pointed out that there is a large amount of ice on the surface of Saturn's moon Enceladus and Jupiter's moon Europa When meteorites hit their surfaces at high speed, they provide a perfect environment for the production of amino acids, thus increasing the possibility of life Therefore, their discovery also highlights the importance of looking for signs of life on the two satellites in the future.