Amino acids found in meteorites

[BadgerKid]

Two ancient meteorites billions of years old have been found to contain record breaking levels of amino acids, the building blocks of life.

Tests showed that the molecules, which form the basis of proteins, were extraterrestrial in origin.

...

Unlike Earth-based amino acids, which prefer a lighter variety of carbon, these molecules were made with a heavier carbon isotope which could only have formed in space.

More at http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=paMeteorite_Thur_1505_Meterorite_acids&show_article=1


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They're among us!

[Ellen Forradalom]

1. "Lighter variety of carbon"?

Lower fat? Less filling? Tastes great? :shrug:

[arendt]

11. Ratio of isotopes - Carbon-12 vs Carbon-13.

Explanation here: http://www.uga.edu/~sisbl/stable.html

<snip>

Table 1.1. Average Terrestrial Abundances of the Stable
Isotopes of Major Elements of Interest in
Ecological Studies

Element Isotope Abundance (%)

Hydrogen 1H 99.985
2H 0.015

Carbon 12C 98.89 ------ "lighter" probably means that the ratio in the meteorites is higher than this.
13C 1.11

Nitrogen 14N 99.63
15N 0.37

Oxygen 16O 99.759
17O 0.037
18O 0.204

Sulfur 32S 95.00
33S 0.76
34S 4.22
36S 0.014

arendt

[BadgerKid]

12. I dug this up

from a journal article. Here they are talking about sugars not amino acids, but both types of molecules contain carbon atoms.

"It is well established that the ratios of carbon (13C/12C) and hydrogen (2H/1H) isotopes in terrestrial and extraterrestrial molecules can literally be worlds apart. Extraterrestrial organic matter is commonly enriched in the heavier isotopes (13C and 2H). By making such measurements on the mixture of sugar-related compounds in the Murchison and Murray meteorites, Cooper et al. show that most have an extraterrestrial origin. However, these measurements only represent an average of a variety of molecules. Determining which molecules are indigenous, and which are not, will require compound-specific isotopic measurements. Only then will we be able to further constrain our theories of how, in the early Solar System, the first chemical steps were taken towards sweet life."

Nature 414, 857-858 (20 December 2001)

[tridim]

2. Wow!

Wonder where it came from? Can an exploding sun make amino acids?

[thecrow]

3. Absolutely fascinating! Thanks for posting this

:)

[RainDog]

4. ur-Mom! ur-Dad!

aren't we celestial stew?

[Botany]

5. Bucky Balls?

[BadgerKid]

13. Buckyballs Can Come from Outer Space (!)

http://www.sciencenews.org/articles/20000325/fob1.asp

[Ian David]

6. We are all space stuff

[Donnachaidh]

8. I DO miss Carl

:cry:

I need a fix of Sagan frequently to keep it all in perspective.

[Donnachaidh]

7. Does this make us *space stuff Lite*?

For some reason the phrase *heavier Carbon isotope* makes me think of the Fantastic Four member - the Thing. :silly:

[Arctic Dave]

9. Should we start a pool on which one of the wingnut

televangelist will call up god and tell on us for not believing in him.

[DCKit]

10. Duh. Simple explantaion:

God and the Angels have a game of pissing on them as they pass by.

You Godless Freak!!!

:sarcasm: (just in case)

[semillama]

14. This comes as no surprise to me:

http://www.myspace.com/theaminoacids

[On the Road]

15. Wow -- This is Really, Really Big

Have suspected this for awhile. More basic "organic" compounds have been known for awhile, but amino acids are a step up the complexity chain.