The Science of Meteors!
12th August 2024 - Last modified 16th September 2024
August is an exciting time of year for astronomers, with the Perseid meteor shower reaching its peak activity between the 9th and the 14th! Here at Alto Marketing, this got us thinking about meteors and how they may have played a role in the origins of life on Earth!
One of the essential biological mechanisms for all life on this planet is replicable nucleic acids, i.e. DNA and RNA. Without them, life simply could not exist, as the genes that these complex molecules combine are necessary for protein synthesis and the construction of living cells, across all kingdoms of life.
So, how does this relate to meteors? Well, the origin of nucleotides, the monomers that make up nucleic acid polymers, and nucleosides — the un-phosphorylated precursors to nucleotides — is yet to be determined. One hypothesis is that meteorites (the name for a meteor that has landed on the Earth’s surface) may have carried them to Earth [1]!
Pyrimidine and purine nucleobases have been detected in carbonaceous chondrite meteorites. These are ‘stony’ meteorites that account for 3% of all meteorites, yet their name is a misnomer as they only contain 2% carbon by mass in organic matter [2].
Studies using thermochemical equilibrium models and one-dimensional thermodynamic planetesimal (slow-growing dust and ice formations) models have been able to calculate the concentrations of nucleobases in these meteorites.
It is possible for water to exist as a liquid within meteorite planetesimals, and these studies have suggested that radiogenic heating and aqueous chemistry in these regions could lead to the synthesis of prebiotic organic matter, such as nucleic acids.
These cosmochemical pathways provide a unique insight to the formation of the solar system around 4.6 billion years ago, and how the early stages of life may have developed on Earth [3].
We hope you’ve enjoyed this skyward look at meteors and the potential origins of life on Earth. Now get your wishes ready and look out for those ‘shooting stars’!
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References
1.Goldman, A. D., Krishnamurthy, R., Liberles, D. A., et al. 2022. Nucleobases in Meteorites to Nucleobases in RNA and DNA? Journal of Molecular Evolution, 90, 328-331
2.carbonaceous chondrite. (2017, July 26th). Britannica, https://www.britannica.com/science/carbonaceous-chondrite
3.Henning, T. K., Lange, K., Paschek, K., et al. 2023. Meteorites and the RNA World: Synthesis of Nucleobases in Carbonaceous Planetesimals and the Role of Initial Volatile Content. The Astrophysical Journal, 942(50), https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/aca27e
