New scientific evidence suggests that life on earth originated from comet impact

Core tip: researchers from the University of California and the University of Hawaii have created dipeptides containing two amino acids under simulated space conditions, which are important basic components for all organisms to share This discovery opens the door to the possibility that the basic molecules of life can ride comets or meteorites to the earth, thus forming the proteins, enzymes, sugars and other molecules needed for life It is an old topic to discuss the origin of life on earth Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley and the University of Hawaii, Manoa, have created dipeptides containing two amino acids under simulated space conditions, which are important basic components for all organisms to share, the physicist organization network reported recently This discovery opens the door to the possibility that the basic molecules of life can travel to the earth by comets or meteorites, thus forming more complex molecules such as proteins (polypeptides), enzymes and sugars needed for life The results are published in the latest issue of the Astrophysical Journal online Researchers at the University of Hawaii, Manoa, simulate the space environment in a super vacuum chamber, forming a cold snowball Snowballs include carbon dioxide, ammonia and various hydrocarbons, such as methane, ethane and propane Researchers used high-energy electrons to simulate cosmic rays in space to bombard snowballs, triggering chemical reactions and forming complex dipeptides, which are essential for life Then, Richard Matisse and Amanda Stockton of the University of California, Berkeley, analyzed the organic residues with the help of a Martian organic analyzer for detecting and identifying small organic molecules in the solar system In this study, the presence of complex molecules was found, and 9 different amino acids and at least two dipeptides were detected These substances can promote biological evolution on earth Scientists have always believed that the complex biochemical processes originated from the early oceans of the earth The new experiments simulate deep space conditions, indicating that it is possible to create new complex life components on the cold interstellar dust, and it is possible to transport them to the earth to start life "The most basic biochemical components of life on earth may have originated outside the earth," said marces, a chemist at the University of California, Berkeley, who co authored the study Halley's comet can be a hotbed of complex molecules such as dipeptides Comets hitting the earth may deliver these molecules and form more complex life components such as proteins and sugars "