Meteorite bombardment of planets contributes to the birth of life



    Czech scientists conducted laboratory experiments that showed how the bombardment of the planet with numerous meteorites and comets can lead to the birth of life. By reconstructing the harsh laser bombardment conditions, scientists simultaneously obtained adenine, guanine, cytosine and uracil, four organic compounds in the RNA, a molecule that encodes genetic information.

    Scientists have long been looking for ways that lead to the creation of simple molecules of "life molecules" RNA and DNA (the latter contains thymine instead of uracil). The discovery of these methods may lead to an understanding of how life was born. One of the group’s members, Swatopluk Sivish from the Institute of Physical Chemistry of Prague, tells the ScienceMag about this study .



    Sivish explained that recently, scientists have been studying the assumption that life building bricks could come from a chemically simple compound of formamide , resulting from the reaction of hydrogen cyanide with water. This compound was found in abundance in the early stages of the Earth's development, and it has everything you need to create organic molecules: hydrogen, nitrogen, carbon and oxygen.

    The value of the new study is that all RNA constituents were obtained in a single reaction. By heating a mixture of formamide with clay, which simulates the early state of the planet, and exposing it to ultrahigh pressure, temperatures and exposure to ultraviolet and X-ray radiation using ultrahigh-speed laser pulses, the scientists got exactly the situation that occurs when a noticeably large celestial body hits the planet's surface.

    Some previous studies show that adein and guanine are already contained in meteorites that could bring them to Earth with them. But now it turns out that these compounds could be made right on the spot, says Rafael Saladino of the University of the Italian province of Viterbo.

    It is known that in one of the periods of the formation of the solar system, the planets were subjected to constant bombardment by meteorites of various sizes. This period was called “ Late Heavy Bombing ” and lasted from 4.1 to 3.8 billion years ago. It turns out that this attack from space could not sterilize the rudiments of life on the planet, as some scientists thought, but rather contribute to its appearance. Perhaps, it’s true, the Universe is set up so that life is constantly emerging in it.

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