14 DAY TRIAL // A new research whose findings are to appear in the June 20 issue of The Journal of Physical Chemistry A suggests that life on our planet came from outer space.
Scientists Nir Goldman and Isaac Tamblyin say that, as their investigations into the matter at hand indicate, comets that crashed into Earth billions of years ago were the ones who brought a series of organic compounds without which life as we know it would not have evolved on our planet.
The researchers maintain that, it its early days, Earth was not exactly hospitable, especially not in terms of jump-starting and sustaining organic life.
They suspect that life formation began when comets carrying molecules of water, ammonia, methanol and carbon hit out planet.
The force of these impacts need be held accountable for supplying sufficient energy so as to trigger and sustain chemical reactions that ultimately translated in life being formed.
“The flux of organic matter to Earth via comets and asteroids during periods of heavy bombardment may have been as high as 10 trillion kilograms per year, delivering up to several orders of magnitude greater mass of organics than what likely pre-existed on the planet,” Nir Goldman explained, as cited on the official website for the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.
“Cometary impacts could result in the synthesis of prebiotic molecules without the need for other 'special' conditions, such as the presence of catalysts, UV radiation, or special pre-existing conditions on a planet,” the researcher went on to add.
By the looks of it, shock pressures and temperatures of a moderate intensity (i.e. roughly 360,000 atmospheres and 4,600 degrees Fahrenheit) trigger chemical reactions that lead to the formation of prebiotic precursors of DNA and RNA base pairs from ice mixture rich in carbon dioxide.
On the other hand, shock pressures and temperatures of a high intensity (i.e. some 480,000 – 600,000 atmospheres and 6,200 – 8,180 degrees Fahrenheit) can translate into the formation of precursors of amino acids and complex organic synthesis, the same source explains.
News of this theory concerning how life began on our planet comes shortly after one other study argued that life-producing phosphorus was brought to Earth by meteorites.