Discoveries: 2009-JUL to DEC

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"...is an amino acid used by living organisms to make proteins, and this is the first time an amino acid has been found in a comet. Our discovery supports the theory that some of life's ingredients formed in space and were delivered to Earth long ago by meteorite and comet impacts.

His use of the word "theory" is unfortunate. "Idea" would have been better, because some readers may equate this idea with the theory of evolution. This idea is largely speculation at this time, whereas the theory of evolution is supported by massive amounts of evidence.

Carl Pilcher, Director of the NASA Astrobiology Institute, said that the finding:

"... supports the idea that the fundamental building blocks of life are prevalent in space and ... that life in the universe may be common." ₃

Larry D. Martin, a paleontologist at the University of Kansas, said that the profuse plumage on its feet suggests that the animal lived mainly in tree dweller. He said: "No dinosaur could walk well with feathers on its feet like that." ₄

"We have demonstrated for the first time that we can make uracil, a component of RNA, non-biologically in a laboratory under conditions found in space. We are showing that these laboratory processes, which simulate occurrences in outer space, can make a fundamental building block used by living organisms on Earth."

Stefanie Milam, a researcher at NASA Ames and a co-author of the research paper, said:

"We are trying to address the mechanisms in space that are forming these molecules. Considering what we produced in the laboratory, the chemistry of ice exposed to ultraviolet radiation may be an important linking step between what goes on in space and what fell to Earth early in its development. Nobody really understands how life got started on Earth. Our experiments demonstrate that once the Earth formed, many of the building blocks of life were likely present from the beginning. Since we are simulating universal astrophysical conditions, the same is likely wherever planets are formed."

Pyrimidine is found in meteorites. Its source is unknown, but may be created in the final processes of dying giant red stars. ₅

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