Origin of life in outta space ?

Chandra Wickramasinghe astrobiologist and his colleagues at Cardiff University have developed a new theory of the origin of life in the interior of comets, backed by its results, obtained during space missions to comets in 2004-2005. The researchers argue that the radioactive elements in comets may maintain their water in the liquid state over millions of years, and the presence of a number of hydrocarbons provides another important condition is favorable for life. Their findings, scientists substantiate the results of space missions Deep Impact and Stardust to comet Tempel 1 and Wild 2, respectively. In Tempel I, scientists have found a mixture of organic and clay particles, the Wild 2 - a series of complex hydrocarbon molecules - potential building blocks of life.

Wickramasinghe calculated that the comet in the solar system and across the galaxy contain far more total clay substances contained than young earth, so that the chance of the origin of life elsewhere in comets by 24 orders of magnitude higher than the chance of life on Earth. By the way, Clay discovered on Mars, the researchers also considered one of the favorable signs of possible local life. Moreover, there is a version of that life, then got on Earth originated in outer space in general, a gas cloud before birth (from the cloud) Sun.

Actually, that life has been brought to Earth from space, scientists say a long time, but strictly speaking - already in the XIX century. Although there is no one hundred percent proof, speaks in favor of this theory. Indeed, the various processes in space, as scientists know, give rise to it simple (and not) in organic matter and a number of substances necessary for life. In space (in interstellar space and protoplanetary disks in the dust), scientists have found amino acids, various alcohols and sucrose, carbon dioxide, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and organic nitrogen compounds, molecular oxygen, similar to the magazine "membrane."

So the study by researchers at Cardiff is well within the overall picture. "The results of the comet missions, which surprised many, given new arguments in favor of the hypothesis of panspermia - says Wickramasinghe. - We now have a mechanism like this could happen. The Comets have all the necessary elements - clay, organic molecules and water. In long-term scale, and taking into account the large mass of comets, the probability that life originated in space, much higher than the probability of life on Earth. "