Paper: Lethbridge Herald City: Lethbridge, Alberta Date: Saturday, September 03, 1983 Page: C3
Maybe we're not alone
WASHINGTON (AP) - The discovery that a meteorite fell to Earth with five chemicals found in the genes of all living creatures improves the chances that life exists in other part of the universe, a researcher says. The findings "suggest that life elsewhere in the universe is more likely, and they provide a clearer understanding of the origins of life on Earth," Dr. Cyril Ponnamperuma, a University of Maryland researcher said Monday. "We found only the precursors of life," he added. "We have not found life there (in the meteorite)." Chemicals called bases, which were found in the Murchison meteorite that was recovered in Australia in 1969, are the basic components of deoxyribonucleic acid, or DNA, and ribonucleic acid, or RNA, the molecules that make up genetic material. Their existence in the meteorite has been confirmed by Dr. Stanley Miller of the University of California at San Diego and researches at the University of Missouri at Columbia, Ponnamperuma said. (Mark note: After a brief delay, life has settled once again and I will start trying to find more time for newspaper research.)Please visit, www.MeteoriteArticles.com, a free on-line archive of meteor and meteorite articles. |
