NASA scientists have discovered glycine, a building block of life, in a sample from comet Wilt-2, collected by the Stardust spacecraft. The existence of glycine was already proven two years ago, but the scientists wanted to be sure that its origin was not terrestrial
Glycine is an amino acid used by living things to build proteins. And this is the first time an amino acid has been discovered in a comet," said Dr. Jamie Alessia from NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland. "Our discovery supports the theory that some of the elements of life formed in space and arrived on Earth a long time ago through impacts from meteorites and comets.
Elsila is the lead researcher on an article accepted for publication in the journal Meteoritics and Planetary Science. The research was presented during a meeting of the American Chemical Society in Washington on August 16.
"The discovery of glycine in the comet supports the idea that the basic building blocks of life are common in space, and strengthens the argument that life in the universe is common and not rare," says Dr. Carl Fletcher, director of NASA's Astrobiology Institute who participated in funding the research.
Proteins are the molecular workhorses of life, they are used in many types of structures, from hairs to enzymes, the catalysts that accelerate and regulate chemical processes. Just like the 26 letters of the English alphabet or the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet, they are arranged in endless combinations to form words. Life uses 20 different amino acids in a wide variety of arrangements that make it possible to build millions of proteins.
Stardust passed through the dense cloud of gas and dust surrounding the icy core of comet Wilt 2 on January 2, 2004. As the spacecraft passed through the material, a special collection net filled with aerogel—a novel sponge-like material composed of more than 99% empty space—gently collected Gas and dust samples from the comet. The network was stored in a capsule that separated from the spacecraft and fell to Earth on January 15, 2006. Since then scientists from all over the world have been busy analyzing the samples to learn the secrets of comet formation and the history of our solar system.
"We're actually dissecting foil from the sides of a tiny cell that contains the airgel in the collection grid," Elsila said. As the gas molecules pass through the airgel, some get stuck in the foil. We spent two years developing the equipment that makes it possible to measure these molecules with enough precision and sensitivity to analyze such tiny samples."
Earlier, preliminary analyzes at Goddard Laboratories detected glycine in both the foil and airgel samples. However, since glycine is common in life on Earth, the team initially could not rule out contamination from terrestrial sources. "It is possible that the glycine we found originated from the treatment or manufacture of the spacecraft" said Alsila. The new study used isotope analysis of the foil to rule out the possibility.
Isotypes are versions of elements that differ in mass or weight. For example, the most common atom of carbon - carbon 12, has six protons and six neutrons in its nucleus. However, carbon-13 isotope is heavier because it has an extra neutron in its center. A glycine molecule from space will tend to contain more carbon-13 atoms than a molecule from Earth. This is what the crew found. "We discovered that the glycine that came in Stardust's samples has extraterrestrial isotope signatures of carbon, which indicates that it originated in a comet," Elsila said.
Based on the tests of the airgel and the foil, there is a reasonable chance that the entire side facing the comet of the airgel contains glycine particles formed in space," said Glavin.
"The discovery of amino acids in the samples brought from the comet is exciting and profound" says Stardust's chief researcher, Prof. Donald Brownlee from the University of Washington in Seattle. "This is an important victory that emphasizes the innovative ability of the laboratory tests to detect primitive extraterrestrial substances.
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NASA Stardust mission website
For information on the NASA website.
More of the topic in Hayadan:
37 תגובות
To Michael Rothschild: No one could fake an event on the scale of the Exodus, and no one would believe it happened if it didn't really happen. This is just an example, there are many more proofs of God's existence. But anyone can believe it or not, this is what is called free choice.
And regarding the aliens: I think 99% that there are aliens that evolved some 10,000 years before us at least (nothing in terms of the universe), and now they are following our natural evolution. The reason we don't see them is that they have the technology to hide from us, and they do it so as not to hinder our development. (Just think what humanity would do if it discovered life in space).
And for those who think I'm contradicting myself: I believe that God created the world aimed at creating life, and he continues to manage it every moment. He brought the people of Israel out of Egypt, and He is the true God. But - (as already said) it has nothing to do with the existence or non-existence of aliens.
Nati:
No finding will bring the average religious out of his delusion.
In his opinion, God planted dinosaur skeletons in the ground just to confuse us and caused the holocaust to give us free choice.
By the way: I didn't just say "average religious" and that's because there are religious people who are above average.
Here's one example:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d35nFvb1Wh4&feature=channel_page
All the discussion about whether there are aliens is not relevant to religion and Judaism in particular, because there is no conclusive proof in the Jewish sources of the existence or non-existence of extraterrestrial life.
Even if the existence of aliens is proven, nothing proves that they were created by chance, or only created so that it appears as if they were created by chance (so that there is room for free choice) - just like life here on Kadda. And even if there is no extraterrestrial life, atheists will deny the existence of the Creator.
Dear Eliyahu, you said well, good luck.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BRHxTMq1xk4&feature=PlayList&p=82B756130DE907F9&index=49
In these studies it is important to give a time perspective.
Many times you discover something, and after several years realize that there was a mistake in the research.
I personally would wait a bit, before making significant statements
I believe there are aliens visiting earth for years
Y BSD Q Aliens on Earth Michael in the past Michi in the past He will already find something because he is the alien
Itzik As a religious person, the argument "God created or did so and so" is not a scientific argument and is therefore not relevant to the issue. For us, God created everything, and science describes his leadership.
The more interesting question is how glycerin got to the comet.
Itzik, you are wasting your life
And you know what I think it's presumptuous to educate children under the age of 6 about religion
Look what happened to you
Itzik, as is the way of the religious, continues, from the height of his lowliness, to instruct others what to do.
Everything exists outside the earth except life, which the creator of the world gives, stop looking because you won't find it. You are wasting your life in vain, messing with what already exists.
In the center of the hot galaxy there is water and organic shit... In short, you need more overlords!
point:
There is a difference between a simple process that we know how it happened and a fact that is only discovered experimentally but there is still no explanation for its cause. Such a fact certainly teaches us something we did not know.
Should the fact that we discover an unknown fact (and one that we could not even attribute any probability to its existence) *surprise* us?
It all depends on the (unfounded) probability we attributed to this fact in the first place.
Ami Bachar:
Your claim as if o-to-to would make the claim that there is extraterrestrial life based on a level of scientific belief is incorrect.
Many scientists still believe that this is simply not true and most scientists will not even hazard a guess on the matter.
I agree with your point that the discovery of a single amino acid is far from justifying the title as if the extraterrestrial origin of the building blocks of life has been conclusively proven.
I agree with this both because of the existence of additional building blocks (which have not yet been discovered in space) and because of the fact that the existence of material in the dust of a certain comet does not constitute proof that that material reached the living systems from space (it at most increases the likelihood that it happened; no More).
Hanan Sabat:
Your response is all wishful thinking and I won't add words because it's enough for the wise...
Yigal C:
Communication enables conceptualization because it is based on conceptualization.
See, in this matter you "The first word".
raul,
It is true that communication is extremely important and especially one that allows the conceptualization (expression through a communication concept) of theoretical and immaterial matters, but it does not have to be verbal or in a language that we can imagine its nature.
point
Where did you get this theory from?
This is amazing news and a fascinating article. Thank you father!
I wonder if a spacecraft is sent to every comet that passes by us and whether in any future test we will discover a different amino acid. Also, the question arises where did the comet come from in the first place?
20 years ago, mainstream science argued that man was most likely the only intelligent race alive (perhaps the only one in the universe).
10 years ago, astronomer Seth Shostak predicted that planets and intelligent life would be found within 25 years.
5 years ago, the prophet Shostak rejected his arguments and claimed that the discovery of planets and life is a matter of time. — Shostak predicted all his prophecies between the development of one screen saver and another, within the curiosity known as SETI.
And now - one small step and they will reach the necessary conclusion:
1. The universe is infested with life.
2. The universe is infested with life, some of which are intelligent and at different levels of development (more advanced than us and more backward than us)
3. ***** I will leave this section blank. And enough of an allusion.
Hanan Sabat
http://WWW.EURA.ORG.IL
In the article there is no explanation of the processes and mechanisms that create glycine on Earth, what are the chances of the formation of glycine in a random mixture of elements? Apparently it is a material that is formed quite easily spontaneously, otherwise what would it do on a rock in space. It is understood that this molecule is important for the existence of life on earth, but what is its importance for the formation of life, if at all? Was glycine used by life on Earth from "the first day" or was it created in the process of evolution? By and large, it makes sense to me that in places where there are certain elements there will also be materials that are created from these elements. Therefore, it seems to me that we have not actually discovered anything in this discovery, except for the importance of material detection and detection techniques in space.
I would be happy to receive a reference to the points I raised.
please.
I still remember the drama of that crash.
Ami, it seems to me that the intention was to clarify the concept, for those who are unsure about the meaning of mass, to understand that it is weight. Everyone knows that.
Isotopes are elements that differ in atomic number - protons and neutrons - therefore will be different in mass and, as a result, also in weight. The above statement that isotopes are different either in mass or weight is misleading and incorrect.
Interesting article, thank you very much
Father, thank you for the answer.
So God is actually a comet?
to anti-missile psalms.
Scientists don't exist. This is an invention of evolutionists.
simple man
You did not read the article well:
At first there was indeed such a concern, but the new research confirmed for sure that it is glycine that comes from a comet:
"It is possible that the glycine we found originated from the treatment or manufacture of the spacecraft" Elsila said. The new study used isotope analysis of the foil to rule that out."
BDS.
Heretical words from the scientists again.
Before you rejoice - read the entire article carefully.
There is a reasonable basis to assume that this is a national contamination - the researchers are not sure.
To the question, no. You are confusing the spaceship Genesis which crashed on its return to Earth because the parachute did not open.
Wait, isn't this a capsule whose parachute didn't open and finally crashed violently on the ground? If this is her, how is it possible to know that the materials they found in her are not dirt, dust and completely mundane substances that entered the sample during the crash? (meaning they are not from space and the tail of the comet)
post Scriptum
You can see that there is not a lot of knowledge, if any, behind what I am saying
But that's why I bring it up here
I want to hear what people who understand Lamer have
What's more, if they can't speak and write and read then they probably can't make progress either
And what are the chances that a certain species will be able to speak again in a repeated evolution
Ami Bachar:
I agree with you completely
Of all the universes there is no chance that this is the only one where life has evolved
What is certain is that they know how to talk there
And I say this because lately I'm starting to believe that it's all talk
This means that as soon as a certain species starts talking
So little by little it deepens until it reaches purpose and meaning and all the rest of the mind
that we all admit that the only thing that links materialism to spirituality is language
After all, everything is words and not soul
C2H5NO2 ok
A. It is clear that there is life outside the earth (clear in a belief that is gradually becoming a scientific truth)
B. Still do not rule out contamination or the formation of the material while in contact with the surface.
third. The mere fact that they found one amino acid (?!) still does not indicate an option for life. He supports this option - but life as we know it today requires much more than that. Glycine is a very simple molecule C2H5NO2 and therefore random creation of the substance is easier than more complex amino acids such as say lysine or proline
What I would give for a handful of soil from Mars or the deeper layers of the moon...
After we know that all those non-hydrogen substances that make up life were formed in a primordial giant sun that exploded 10 billion years ago, nothing will arouse so much wonder anymore.