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At least 775 records · Page 43Linked to original sources
PubMed2004

Organic matter in meteorites.

Some primitive meteorites are carbon-rich objects containing a variety of organic molecules that constitute a valuable record of organic chemical evolution in the universe prior to the appearance of microorganisms. Families of compounds include hydrocarbons, alcohols, aldehydes, ketones, carboxylic acids, amino acids, amines, amides, heterocycles, phosphonic acids, sulfonic acids, sugar-related compounds and poorly defined high-molecular weight macromolecules. A variety of environments are required in order to explain this organic inventory, including interstellar processes, gas-grain reactions operating in the solar nebula, and hydrothermal alteration of parent bodies. Most likely, substantial amounts of such organic materials were delivered to the Earth via a late accretion, thereby providing organic compounds important for the emergence of life itself, or that served as a feedstock for further chemical evolution. This review discusses the organic content of primitive meteorites and their relevance to the build up of biomolecules.

Evolution, Chemical↗
PubMed2005

Organic matter in comets and cometary dust.

Comets are primitive conglomerates of the solar system containing a mixture of frozen gases, refractory grains, and carbonaceous particles rich in biogenic elements. The dramatic display of comets is mostly caused by a cloud of micrometer-sized dust particles that leave the comet nucleus when frozen gases sublimate as they approach the Sun. Analyses of cometary dust captured in the stratosphere together with data obtained from space missions to comets have revealed the presence of a great variety of organic molecules. Since substantial amounts of cometary dust were gently deposited on Earth, their organic content could have played a major role in prebiotic processes prior to the appearance of microorganisms. This review discusses the description and implications for life of the organic content of comets and cometary dust.

Cosmic Dust↗
PubMed2005

[Scientific conflicts. Conflict over water].

Scientific progress results from conflicts about the existence of new phenomena. Two theorems are formulated: Whatever is predicted by a sufficiently famous theorist will be discovered independently of whether it exists or not. Thus the criterion for existence of a phenomenon is not its discovery but rather its reproducibility! Whatever is "discovered" by a sufficiently famous experimentalist will be explained independently of its existence. Thus the criterion for understanding a phenomenon is not an explanation but rather the unanimous acceptance of one single explanation. It is argued that the optimal intention of scientists is to be critical but not rigid and at the same time open but not credulous. Since the intentions "open" and "critical" are in opposition, the historical path of science often oscillates between the two extremes "credulous" and "rigid". This is demonstrated by historical examples and applied to the special case of water.

Conflict, Psychological↗
PubMed1997

The early solar system.

Life arose on an early Earth which was the product to the conditions present, and processes operating, during formation of the solar system. The formation and early state of the solar system are reviewed in order to better understand the nature of the early Earth, and to constrain the conditions present during the origin and early evolution of life on this planet.

Cold Temperature↗
PubMed1997

Chemical evolution on Titan: comparisons to the prebiotic earth.

Models for the origin of Titan's atmosphere, the processing of the atmosphere and surface and its exobiological role are reviewed. Titan has gained widespread acceptance in the origin of life field as a model for the types of evolutionary processes that could have occurred on prebiotic Earth. Both Titan and Earth possess significant atmospheres (> or = 1 atm) composed mainly of molecular nitrogen with smaller amounts of more reactive species. Both of these atmospheres are processed primarily by solar ultraviolet light with high energy particles interactions contributing to a lesser extent. The products of these reactions condense or are dissolved in other atmospheric species (aerosols/clouds) and fall to the surface. There these products may have been further processed on Titan and the primitive Earth by impacting comets and meteorites. While the low temperatures on Titan (approximately 72-180 K) preclude the presence of permanent liquid water on the surface, it has been suggested that tectonic activity or impacts by meteors and comets could produce liquid water pools on the surface for thousands of years. Hydrolysis and oligomerization reactions in these pools might form chemicals of prebiological significance. Other direct comparisons between the conditions on present day Titan and those proposed for prebiotic Earth are also presented.

Atmosphere↗
PubMed1997

Is extraterrestrial organic matter relevant to the origin of life on Earth?

I review the relative importance of internal and external sources of prebiotic molecules on Earth at the time of life's origin approximately 3.7 Gyr ago. The efficiency of synthesis in the Earth's atmosphere was critically dependent on its oxidation state. If the early atmosphere was non-reducing and CO2-dominated, external delivery might have been the dominant source. Interplanetary dust grains and micrometeorites currently deliver carbonaceous matter to the Earth's surface at a rate of approximately 3 x 10(5) kg/yr (equivalent to a biomass in approximately 2 Gyr), but this may have been as high as 5 x 10(7) kg/yr (a biomass in only approximately 10 Myr) during the epoch of late bombardment. Much of the incoming material is in the form of chemically inactive kerogens and amorphous carbon; but if the Earth once had a dense (approximately 10-bar) atmosphere, small comets rich in a variety of prebiotic molecules may have been sufficiently air-braked to land non-destructively. Lingering uncertainties regarding the impact history of the Earth and the density and composition of its early atmosphere limit our ability to draw firm conclusions.

Atmosphere↗
PubMed1996

Water on early Mars.

Large flood channels, valley networks and a variety of features attributed to the action of ground ice indicate that Mars emerged from heavy bombardment 3.8 Ga ago, with an inventory of water at the surface equivalent to at least a few hundred metres spread over the whole planet, as compared with 3 km for the Earth. The mantle of Mars is much drier than that of the Earth, possibly as a result of global melting at the end of accretion and the lack of plate tectonics to subsequently reintroduce water into the interior. The surface water resided primarily in a porous, kilometres-thick megaregolith created by the high impact rates. Under today's climatic conditions groundwater is trapped below a thick permafrost zone. At the end of heavy bombardment any permafrost zone would have been much thinner because of the high heat flows, but climatic conditions may have been very different then, as suggested by erosion rates 1000 times higher than subsequent rates. Water trapped below the permafrost periodically erupted onto the surface to form large flood channels and lakes. Given abundant water at the surface and sustained volcanism, hydrothermal activity must have frequently occurred but we have yet to make the appropriate observations to detect the results of such activity.

Climate↗
PubMed1998

Circular polarization in star-formation regions: implications for biomolecular homochirality.

Strong infrared circular polarization resulting from dust scattering in reflection nebulae in the Orion OMC-1 star-formation region has been observed. Circular polarization at shorter wavelengths might have been important in inducing chiral asymmetry in interstellar organic molecules that could be subsequently delivered to the early Earth by comets, interplanetary dust particles, or meteors. This could account for the excess of L-amino acids found in the Murchison meteorite and could explain the origin of the homochirality of biological molecules.

Amino Acids↗