[Qitan Science Channel] New Evidence Adds to the Possibility That Life on Earth Originated from Comets

Exploring the origin of life on Earth is an ancient topic. According to a recent report by the Physicists' Organization Network, researchers from the University of California, Berkeley, and the University of Hawaii at Manoa have created dipeptides containing two amino acid molecules under simulated space conditions. These dipeptides are important basic molecules shared by all living things. This discovery opens the door to the possibility that basic molecules of life could arrive on Earth via comets or meteorites, thereby forming more complex molecules required for life, such as proteins (polypeptides), enzymes, and sugars. The research results were published in the latest online edition of the Astrophysical Journal.\ Researchers at the University of Hawaii at Manoa simulated the space environment in an ultra-high vacuum chamber, forming a cold snowball. The snowball included carbon dioxide, ammonia, and various hydrocarbons such as methane, ethane, and propane. The researchers used high-energy electrons to simulate cosmic rays in space and bombarded the snowball, triggering chemical reactions and forming complex dipeptides, which are essential basic substances for life.\ Subsequently, Richard Mathies and Amanda Stockton from the University of California, Berkeley, used a Mars Organic Molecule Analyzer, a device for detecting and identifying organic molecules in the solar system, to analyze the organic residues. The study discovered the presence of complex molecules, detecting nine different amino acids and at least two dipeptides. These substances could facilitate biological evolution on Earth.\ Scientists have long believed that complex life chemical processes originated in the early oceans of Earth. The new experiment simulated deep space conditions, indicating that it is possible to create new complex life components on icy interstellar dust and transport them to Earth, thus initiating life. One of the co-authors of the research paper, chemist Massis from the University of California, Berkeley, said, 'The most basic biochemical components of life on Earth may have originated from beyond Earth. Halley's Comet could be a breeding ground for complex molecules such as dipeptides. Comet impacts on Earth may deliver these molecules and form more complex life components, such as proteins and sugars.'