DNA building blocks found in meteorites

Ought Six · 08-09-2011, 05:12 PM

http://www.washingtonpost.com/nation...42I_story.html

Twoolf · 08-09-2011, 05:54 PM

That opens up a whole slew of possibilities. Lends some more support for the 1950's Millers experiment also.

Ought Six · 08-09-2011, 07:09 PM

"We are stardust, we are golden,
We are billion year old carbon,
And we got to get ourselves
Back to the garden."
-- Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, 'Woodstock' --

Auburn Boy · 08-09-2011, 08:12 PM

What seems new about this study is the elimination fo the possibility of contamination, which was always a possibility.

"Rare" or "exotic nucleotides found IN the metoerites were not found in the soils AROUND the meteorites, thereby reducing the potential of them being due to contamination to statisticallly unlikely.

That added a built in control to the "experiment." This does not conclusively prove it, but it strengthens the evidence that the hypothesis is correct.

Sysiphus · 08-09-2011, 08:14 PM

Quote:

-- Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, 'Woodstock' --

Written by Joni Mitchell, actually, although CSNY made it famous.

Regarding this study, I think we are rapidly reaching the point where it becomes apparent that the panspermia theory and the laws of thermodynamics make some form of life on a suitable planet almost inevitable. The real question, though, is how likely is it that intelligent life will evolve from the seeds that have been sown.

Twoolf · 08-09-2011, 08:41 PM

Probably less than one in a million. But since there are billions and billions from choose from, there have to be a bunch in the Goldilocks zone.