# Nucleotide Material Found In Meteorite Definitely Extraterrestrial. Newslink **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 16, 2008, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nucleotide-material-found-in-meteorite-definitely-extraterrestrial-newslink/453160 "2008-06-16T22:40:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2008, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nucleotide-material-found-in-meteorite-definitely-extraterrestrial-newslink/453160/1 "2008-06-16T22:40:41Z")
Uracil and xanthine were identified. > **[Breitbart News Network](https://www.breitbart.com/)** > > Syndicated news and opinion website providing continuously updated headlines to top news and analysis sources. > [@](#): > > European and US scientists have proved for the first time that two bits of genetic coding, called nucleobases, contained in the meteor fragment, are truly extraterrestrial. > > Previous studies had suggested that the space rocks, which hit Earth some 40 years ago, might have been contaminated upon impact. > > Both of the molecules identified, uracil and xanthine, “are present in our DNA and RNA,” said lead author Zita Martins, a researcher at Imperial College London. > > \*\* A team of European and US scientists showed that the two types of molecules in the Australian meteorite contained a heavy form of carbon – carbon 13 – which could only have been formed in space.\*\* ~~Bolding by me. My-my-my. Leaving out the hype, this is interesting indeed. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2008, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nucleotide-material-found-in-meteorite-definitely-extraterrestrial-newslink/453160/2 "2008-06-16T22:42:56Z")
More story links. > **[Proto-DNA from Meteorites Kick-Started Life on Earth](https://gizmodo.com/proto-dna-from-meteorites-kick-started-life-on-earth-5016804)** > > How life got started on Earth is still a big problem for scientists. The story goes something like this: "Well, there was this primordial soup of amino acids and stuff, then maybe there was some lightning, or something, and then ::mumble, mumble::... [http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/111367.php](http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/111367.php) ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2008, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nucleotide-material-found-in-meteorite-definitely-extraterrestrial-newslink/453160/3 "2008-06-16T22:45:52Z")
That is indeed interesting. Maybe our finding out about our neighbours doesn’t come in one fell starship swoop; it comes in little dribs and drabs like this. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2008, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nucleotide-material-found-in-meteorite-definitely-extraterrestrial-newslink/453160/4 "2008-06-16T22:57:37Z")
We are all starstuff. ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2008, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nucleotide-material-found-in-meteorite-definitely-extraterrestrial-newslink/453160/5 "2008-06-16T23:21:21Z")
[QUOTE=featherlou] That is indeed interesting. Maybe our finding out about our neighbours doesn’t come in one fell starship swoop; it comes in little dribs and drabs like this. [/QUOTE] This also supports the idea that life on Earth was seeded by these chemicals falling from space. (A stronger form of that theory posits whole single-celled lifeforms hitching a ride here from who-knows-where, but we haven’t found any evidence of that to date.) ---
**Author:** ![Autolycus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/22d042/32.png) [@Autolycus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Autolycus)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2008, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nucleotide-material-found-in-meteorite-definitely-extraterrestrial-newslink/453160/6 "2008-06-16T23:21:47Z")
Maybe “The Andromeda Strain” is actually a documentary sent from the future. Sounds like poopen pants time. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2008, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nucleotide-material-found-in-meteorite-definitely-extraterrestrial-newslink/453160/7 "2008-06-17T00:21:12Z")
[QUOTE=silenus] We are all starstuff. [/QUOTE] …we are golden, … ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2008, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nucleotide-material-found-in-meteorite-definitely-extraterrestrial-newslink/453160/8 "2008-06-17T00:47:43Z")
[QUOTE=samclem] …we are golden, … [/QUOTE] … we’re gonna look so stupid to our children. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2008, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nucleotide-material-found-in-meteorite-definitely-extraterrestrial-newslink/453160/9 "2008-06-17T01:12:09Z")
[QUOTE=Derleth] … we’re gonna look so stupid to our children. [/QUOTE] I already do. Can’t wait for them to get older, when I’ll look better. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![The\_Them](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/898d66/32.png) [@The\_Them](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Them)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2008, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nucleotide-material-found-in-meteorite-definitely-extraterrestrial-newslink/453160/10 "2008-06-17T14:11:27Z")
Without even a glance at these links, it’s old news. Interesting, but not _that_ interesting. Is this anything like the meteorite examined in Maryland? The one with achiral amino acids? And when did carbon-13 become magic? “Only forms in space?” I’m not saying this panspermia idea is impossible, but there’s still no good reason to think that the chemical processes that lead to lifeforms don’t occur a LOT faster and more efficiently in non-vaccuum environments. Say, Earth. ---
**Author:** ![picunurse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@picunurse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/picunurse)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2008, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nucleotide-material-found-in-meteorite-definitely-extraterrestrial-newslink/453160/11 "2008-06-17T14:50:50Z")
Isn’t it possible that the meteorite was orginally a bit of earth rock thrown into the outer atmosphere by, say volcanic activity? The carbon was then exposed to increased gamma radiation formed the C13 isotope. Then, after orbiting for a while, fell back to earth. I’m probably wrong. I have no idea of the science. ---
**Author:** ![WarmNPrickly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d78d45/32.png) [@WarmNPrickly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WarmNPrickly)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2008, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nucleotide-material-found-in-meteorite-definitely-extraterrestrial-newslink/453160/12 "2008-06-17T15:22:00Z")
IMO panspermia is a ludicrous idea. All it does is pass the buck on the origin of life. Worse yet, it puts it in a place where complex chemical reactions are even less likely due to low concentrations and a lack of solvent. On earth, you have massive soup of chemicals that are constantly mixing. Earth is the perfect environment for complex reactions. Finding extraterestrial nucleotides only demonstrates that these nucleotides are a natural energy minimum for compounds to rearrange to. It’s a nice find, but not unexpected. ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2008, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nucleotide-material-found-in-meteorite-definitely-extraterrestrial-newslink/453160/13 "2008-06-17T15:28:16Z")
[QUOTE=picunurse] Isn’t it possible that the meteorite was orginally a bit of earth rock thrown into the outer atmosphere by, say volcanic activity? The carbon was then exposed to increased gamma radiation formed the C13 isotope. Then, after orbiting for a while, fell back to earth. I’m probably wrong. I have no idea of the science. [/QUOTE] Not that a rock would have to reach escape velocity (11.2 km/s) in order to orbit the earth (?), but I can’t imagine any earth volcano capable to accelerate even a low-mass rock fast enough to reach any kind of stable orbit. We’re talking several thousands of miles an hour at the least, aren’t we? Perhaps ejecta from a larger meteor impact though. I think that is within reason. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2008, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nucleotide-material-found-in-meteorite-definitely-extraterrestrial-newslink/453160/14 "2008-06-17T15:31:05Z")
How about the debris thrown up by a vast meteor impact? ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2008, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nucleotide-material-found-in-meteorite-definitely-extraterrestrial-newslink/453160/15 "2008-06-17T15:33:41Z")
[QUOTE=WarmNPrickly] IMO panspermia is a ludicrous idea. All it does is pass the buck on the origin of life… [/QUOTE] While I agree that all it does is pass the buck, I wouldn’t call it a ludicrous idea. It’s entirely possible. We can’t rule it out, so it must be considered if we are looking into the matter of our origins. If it does turn out to be true, it means there’s a fantastic chance there’s life elsewhere. But, I doubt we’ll ever have enough conclusive evidence aside from circumstantial findings such as this.