Are two key ingredients for life on a comet – ABC Color

WASHINGTON. For the first time scientists have succeeded in detecting the presence in a comet two essential ingredients for life: glycine-a-amino acid and phosphorus, according to research by European scientists reported Friday.

The discovery was made in the 67P / Churyumov-Gerasimenko, an open end of the sixties by Ukrainian scientists comet, which is being investigated by the European probe Rosetta.

Although already detected the presence in space of more than 140 different organic molecules, it is the first time these two elements that are key to the development of DNA and cell membranes are detected.

the results of this accomplished research through Rosina, the spectrometer of the Rosetta probe, were published in the journal ScienceAdvances.

Traces of glycine needed to form proteins, had already been found in the remains of the tail of comet Wild 2 NASA managed to obtain in 2004.

But now scientists could not completely rule out the possibility that the samples had been contaminated somehow during the analysis done on Earth.

the finding made now confirms the existence of glycine and phosphorus in comets.

“This is the first detection with certainty glycine in atmosphere of a comet, “says Kathrin Altwegg of the University of Bern (Switzerland), head of Rosina project and author.

La glycine is very difficult to detect, it goes from solid to gas below 150 degrees Celsius, which means that this amino acid decomposes into gaseous form on the cold surface of the comet.

Unlike other amino acids, glycine is the only that can be formed without the presence of liquid water, scientists say.

the source of phosphorus detected in the thin atmosphere of the comet 67P / Churyumov-Gerasimenko has not yet been determined, the study says.

“to demonstrate that comets are reservoirs of primitive materials in the solar system and that they could carry those key to life on Earth ingredients is one of the main goals of Rosetta,” said meanwhile Matt Taylor, Chief scientific Officer of the mission of the European Space Agency.