So far, scientists have identified three of the five key chemicals that make up DNA and RNA. But in a new study published in the journal Nature Communications, a team of researchers led by Yasuhiro Oba, an astrochemist at Hokkaido University in Japan, describes in detail their latest discovery: the two pieces of the missing puzzle. The two nucleobases, purine and pyrimidine, were discovered in meteorites that fell in Canada, the United States and Australia between 1950 and 2000. Research could change the way we understand the early processes that led to the creation of life on our planet shortly after the formation of the solar system. “This study shows that a variety of meteoric nucleobases could serve as building blocks of DNA and RNA on early Earth,” the study said.
Lots to learn
While both DNA and RNA contain technically enough information to lead to the formation of living organisms, we do not yet have a clear picture of how life was first created billions of years ago. “There is still a lot to learn about the chemical steps that led to the origin of life on Earth – the first self-reproducing system,” Danny Glavin, a NASA scientist and co-author of the study, told Reuters. “This research definitely adds to the list of chemical compounds that would exist in prebiotics of early Earth. [existing before the emergence of life] soup.” Ingredients other than the five nucleobases are also needed to form life, including amino acids, sugars, and fatty acids. However, the discovery is a new exciting sign. “Today’s results may not immediately clarify the origin of life on Earth,” Oba told Reuters, “but I believe they can improve our understanding of the list of organic molecules on early Earth before life began.” READ MORE: All 5 DNA components, RNA found in meteorites from Canada, USA, Australia [Reuters] More about life: Scientists claim to have recreated the first life on Earth
