News: Space rock yields answers about origins of life on Earth
Robert Karl Stonjek
June 3rd, 2009 in Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
(PhysOrg.com) -- Formic acid, a compound implicated in the origins of life,
has been found at record levels on a meteorite that fell onto a frozen
Canadian lake in 2000.
Chris Herd, a professor in the University of Alberta's Department of Earth
and Atmospheric Sciences and curator of the university's meteorite
collection, presented his research findings at the 2009 American Geophysical
Union joint assembly in Toronto at the end of May.
Herd conducted his analysis on the Tagish Lake Meteorite, which he has
described as being possibly the "most important rock that's ever been found
anywhere on the Earth."
The U of A scientist found levels of formic acid that were four times higher
than had previously been recorded on a meteorite. Formic acid is one of a
group of compounds dubbed "organics" because they are rich in carbon. This
compound is also commonly associated with ants and bees because of its
presence in their venom.
Herd said the delivery of formic acid and other carboxylic acids to the
early Earth by meteorites like the one that fell on Tagish Lake in northern
British Columbia would have provided the components needed for life,
especially the fatty acids that are an important part of cell walls.
He said the ultimate source of formic acid may be interstellar space as this
and related compounds have been observed astronomically in cold, molecular
clouds as well as in comets.
The Tagish Lake meteorite fell on the frozen surface of a northern B.C. lake
in the middle of January and was collected without being touched by human
hands. It represents the most pristine sample of minerals from outer space.
Samples of the meteorite, totalling 850 grams, were collected from Tagish
Lake and purchased in 2006 by a research consortium that included the
University of Alberta.
"We are lucky that the meteorite was untouched by humans hands, avoiding
contamination by organic compounds that we have on our fingers," said Herd.
"This meteorite can tell us new information about the birth and evolution of
our solar system, and the very fact that it's been kept frozen, essentially
pristine, uncontaminated by human hands, gives us an unprecedented
opportunity to explore new scientific avenues that were heretofore
impossible.
"We can do things with this meteorite that nobody's ever done before."
Provided by University of Alberta (news : web)
http://www.physorg.com/news163259938.html
Posted by
Robert Karl Stonjek