In a groundbreaking discovery, scientists have found evidence suggesting that the origins of life on Earth may be interstellar. According to new research, the ingredients for life, including amino acids, may have formed in interstellar space alongside stars or planets.
Simulating Interstellar Conditions
To explore how amino acids and amines, their chemical cousins, may have formed, scientists at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, simulated a mini, cosmic evolution in the lab. They made ices like those found in interstellar clouds, blasted them with radiation, and then exposed the leftover material, which included amines and amino acids, to water and heat to replicate the conditions they would have experienced inside asteroids.