A team of researchers at NASA’s Cosmic Ice Laboratory recently published results from a study that aimed to investigate the origin of amino acids, which are the building blocks of proteins. These researchers simulated the chemical activities of interstellar molecular clouds and asteroids, two places known to form amino acids, and found that there’s something complicated happening to produce the distribution of materials found in meteorites. The team tested the theory that amino acids were created within interstellar molecular clouds, then carried to Earth inside asteroids, but they encountered the same problem as previous lab studies: the distribution of amino acids still doesn’t match what’s found in nature. Knowing where these amino acids come from could provide insight into the possibility of life elsewhere in the universe.
Amino acids, the building blocks of life, have been found in meteorites, fueling the debate on whether they originated on Earth or elsewhere in the universe. A recent study by NASA’s Cosmic Ice Laboratory sheds new light on the mystery by simulating the chemical activities of interstellar molecular clouds and asteroids, both known to form amino acids. The results hint that something complex is happening to produce the amino acid distribution found in meteorites and suggest that life’s heritage may have started off-planet. The discovery of the origin of amino acids could provide insight into the possibility of life elsewhere in the cosmos.