Building Blocks of Life May Have Extra-terrestrial Origin

The results of a recent study published in the Astrophysical Journal have suggested that complex molecules necessary for the formation of life may have arrived on Earth via a comet or meteorite, rather than been formed in Earth’s early oceans as currently believed.

Scientists from the University of California, Berkeley, and the University of Hawaii, Manoa, conducted an experiment in which they simulated conditions in deep space. They found that such conditions are capable of creating complex dipeptides - linked pairs of amino acids - that are essential building blocks shared by all living things.

The implication is that the complex building blocks of life on Earth may not have been formed on Earth after all but may in fact have extraterrestrial origin. Dipeptide molecules could have been brought to Earth on a comet or meteorite, catalysing the formation of proteins, enzymes and even more complex molecules that are necessary for life.

The study raises interesting questions. If the building blocks for life arrived on Earth in the manner suggested, then they could also have arrived on other planets too…

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