A new technique created by NASA will allow researchers to scan extremely small meteorite samples for the key ingredients of life. This new technique should help researchers and scientists unravel the mystery of life's origin on Earth.
The technique could also be used to examine extraterrestrial materials that are small in scale, such as interplanetary dust particles, micrometeorites, and cometary particles, according to NASA.
Michael Callahan and a team of researchers from NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. have found amino acids, which are used to make proteins, after analyzing carbon-rich meteorites. This was an interesting find, and one of the reasons why scientists are excited about this new technique, which is called nanoflow liquid chromatography.
Callahan and his team has also found evidence of the very components that are responsible for creating DNA and other important molecules that are key to the building blocks of life, after examining a meteorite. However, he said that meteorites with life building block components are very rare, and the components found are small concentrations that might not be enough to transform a barren planet into what it is today.
As one might expect, such small concentrations have caused critics to wonder if this research is the worth the time and effort. Furthermore, they question whether or not the claim of meteorites transporting life's building blocks to Earth is valid.
"Despite their small size, these interplanetary dust particles may have provided higher quantities and a steadier supply of extraterrestrial organic material to early Earth," said Callahan in a statement. "Unfortunately, there have been limited studies examining their organic composition, especially with regards to biologically relevant molecules that may have been important for the origin of life, due to the miniscule size of these samples."
How does it work?
To extract samples from a meteorite, Callahan and his team used a nanoflow liquid chromatography instrument, which is used to sort molecules for samples and add them to a spectrometer which analyzes molecule by molecule to detect potential amino acids, one of the key components of protein.
"Missions involving the collection of extraterrestrial material for sample return to Earth usually collect only a very small amount and the samples themselves can be extremely small as well," said Callahan. "The traditional techniques used to study these materials usually involve inorganic or elemental composition. Targeting biologically relevant molecules in these samples is not routine yet. We are not there either, but we are getting there."
With this new technique, humans may understand and know where life comes from in the coming years. However, researchers need to come up with substantial enough evidence for funding to continue.
