3 ms·
First evidence of cell membrane molecules in space
- hirundo 5y ago“These results indicate that ethanolamine forms efficiently in space and, if delivered onto early Earth, it could have contributed to the assembling and early evolution of primitive membranes.” This would not by itself be panspermia, but if these complex molecules can be delivered to the surface of a planet intact, why not nucleic acids?
- 14 5y agoCan you explain what you mean by the nucleic acid comment?
- hirundo 5y agoNucleic acids compose DNA and RNA. If a membrane containing these, and a certain amount of other cellular mechanisms, can reach the surface intact, then it becomes possible that the Earth was passively seeded by extra-terrestrial life, and that life need not have originated here.
- hidden-spyder 5y agoAt this point, I'm 100% sure there's not only singular, but also primitive multicellular life out there waiting to be found.
- Valgrim 5y agoHere's an question I'd like answered during my lifetime: The moon surface is devoid of water, atmosphere, and life. However, there is water there, especially near the poles, and it is composed of the same elements as on earth. What will we find if we dig deep enough that the vacuum of space and monthly temperature swings becomes irrelevant, and the temperature becomes high enough that liquid water can flow?
- contingencies 5y agoAnyone have a good layman's version of astrobiology-level spectral analysis? I am consistently amazed by the specificity of conclusions drawn from light in space. Don't want a maths or physics degree just yet, but keen to understand the general structure of the current approaches.
- gus_massa 5y agoI'm not sure of the details, but it's probably similar to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infrared_spectroscopy#Theory https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infrared_spectroscopy#Theory You can make the spectrum of the light, and look for dark lines, so you calculate how much light of each color was absorbed, and get a graph like the one in Wikipedia. Each molecule has a different graph, https://www.google.com/search?q=infrared+spectrum&tbm=isch https://www.google.com/search?q=infrared+spectrum&tbm=isch so you can try to math the graph form the light in the telescope with the graph of the known substances or a mix of them.
- contingencies 5y agoCheers that's perfect.