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Origin of life: Murchison meteorite lobbed from asteroid “chemical factory”

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piece of Murchison meteorite

“Asteroids make life’s raw materials” by Michael Marshall asks (New Scientist, 04 May 2011), offering as much evidence as can be mustered from the Murchison meteorite:

The asteroid in question fell to Earth on 28 September 1969, landing on the outskirts of the village of Murchison in Victoria, Australia. Tests showed it was laced with amino acids and some of the chemicals found in our genetic material. [ … ]

The team knew that a simple chemical present in space, called formamide, can be transformed into many biomolecules, so they used that as their starting point.

[ … ]

Saladino’s team also found that the meteorite mineral could stabilise RNA, thought by some to have been the first genetic material. RNA reacts with water and breaks down easily. Most minerals accelerate this process, but the team found that the Murchison mineral did not. “If RNA could be synthesised [inside the asteroid], this environment would stabilise it,” Saladino says.

Rube, shouting: Gimme the right asteroid and I’ll build anything you want!

Rube2, louder: They never say what happened, just what coulda happened. Anything coulda happened. No deal!

Moshe Averick, ID community Reb and former floor trader on the Chicago Exchange, not shouting: I’m not buying. I’m not even selling. I don’t own any. Read up on Nonsense before you buy.

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