Building blocks

The European Space Agency&’s Rosetta probe has found clear evidence of key building blocks of life on Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko — amino acid glycine, a basic component of proteins, and the mineral phosphorus, which helps build DNA.

Scientists are excited by the discovery, which lends weight to the theory that comets “seed” planets with the raw ingredients of life. Rosetta reached the comet in August 2014 after a four billion-mile journey through space that took 10 years. The new evidence came from the Rosetta Orbiter Spectrometer for Ion and Neutral Analysis), an instrument designed to “sniff” the gassy atmosphere surrounding the comet.

While simple organic molecules had already been found around the comet, this is the first time Comet 67P has yielded elements essential to the origin of life on earth.

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Details of the research are reported in the journal Science Advances.

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