Posted on 11/13/2009 4:12:59 PM PST by OldNavyVet
NASA scientists studying the origin of life have reproduced uracil, a key component of our hereditary material, in the laboratory. They discovered that an ice sample containing pyrimidine exposed to ultraviolet radiation under space-like conditions produces this essential ingredient of life.
Pyrimidine is a ring-shaped molecule made up of carbon and nitrogen and is the basic structure for uracil, part of a genetic code found in ribonucleic acid (RNA). RNA is central to protein synthesis, but has many other roles.
"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," said Michel Nuevo, research scientist at NASA's Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif. "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."
(Excerpt) Read more at sciencedaily.com ...
I can hear the hordes howling now...
Okay... howwwwwwwwwl!
This is virtually as much a conundrum as it was before. The inorganic processes known to be friendly to the existence of such compounds have vastly incompatible temperature parameters. One likes boiling hot, another likes freezing cold, and if they try to approach at a compromise temperature they decompose.
IMO< When we bring samples back from Mars, they will reveal just what moon rocks did. No life.
Look, I’ll keep an open mind, but I’m not buying into this at this time.
I think life is much more precious that our scientist do. I don’t think it happens per chance in space or on other planets.
While I do believe in mutation through natural selection, I couldn’t disagree more with the doctrine of the origin of the species through evolution. I believe that existing life forms on planet earth do change, but I still believe in creation.
Everything that is dead has all the ingredients of life... except... life.
Why don’t you ping G-Cube?
Hardly ... they have found nothing...
Wet mud that bakes in the sun is a rudimentary brick but it’s not a house.
Meaningless, just as producing aminno acids in the lab. It is cool though.
Uracil Made in the Lab
AstroBiology Magazine | 11/8/2009
Posted on 11/09/2009 4:17:24 PM PST by IronKros
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/chat/2382565/posts
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Just adding to three pinglist catalogs, not sending any general distribution, because there's been pings in the earlier topic. |
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· Discover · Nat Geographic · Texas AM Anthro News · Yahoo Anthro & Archaeo · Google · · The Archaeology Channel · Excerpt, or Link only? · cgk's list of ping lists · |
Why in the world is NASA (Aeronautics and Space) wasting their precious resources investigating the origins of life? Does that make their ships fly faster or straighter? Sounds like NASA has turned into a completely leftist wing of our government. What a shame, espcially thinking back to their glory days of pencil necked geeks with pocket protectors and slide rules figuring out how to get men to and from the moon. Sad, really.
Translation:
The best and brightest of human scientific achievement, using the finest of tools and deepest of research (under ideal conditions) have managed to create a microscopic lego block and claim it explains how the Taj Mahal just appeared by chance.
It amazes me how gullible people are with respect to science.
Scientists synthesised a single base pair component in the lab, and suddenly we’ve “proven” abiogenesis?
Good grief.
Where they working on this instead of making sure they used metric, not Imperial units, when that lander crashed a few years ago?
Makes you wonder, doesn’t it? I immediately thought of that nutball James Hanson - again wasting resources.
Instead of trying to get a new phase in the space program going, NASA is doing resarch in biochemistry?
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