Impact of extra-terrestrial glycine delivery could have created nucleobase precursors
Quantum simulations show that comets and other celestial bodies may have not only delivered building blocks for life to Earth, but also synthesised them on impact
Researchers from the US have discovered that exposing glycine solutions to sudden heat and pressure – 3000K and 48GPa to mimic a comet impacting Earth – can yield carbon-rich structures, including prebiotically-important nitrogen-containing polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (NPAHs).