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Evidence of Life in Meteorites: Origin of Life on Earth?. UV Irradiation of Interstellar Medium : Production of Organic Materials. http://www.pnas.org/cgi/reprint/98/3/815. 8 th Dec 2006 Yuki Shiraji. Current Common Theory: Chemical Evolution.
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Evidence of Life in Meteorites: Origin of Life on Earth? UV Irradiation of Interstellar Medium : Production of Organic Materials http://www.pnas.org/cgi/reprint/98/3/815 8th Dec 2006 Yuki Shiraji
Current Common Theory: Chemical Evolution Creation of Amino Acids from Inorganic Material Miller-Urey Experiment:Electric Discharge Methods Using Alternative Energy Sources: -Heat -Gamma rays -Infrared rays -Ultraviolet rays http://physics.uoregon.edu/~jimbrau/BrauImNew/Chap28/FG28_02.jpg
Scott A. Standford et al.: Creation of Organic Materials under Their Emulated Interstellar Environment. + Similar Organic Materials Have Been Discovered in Meteorites. ↓ Hypothesis: “Organic Materials Created in the Space Were Brought to the Earth via Meteorites Which Was the Point of Origin of Life on Earth.”
Experiments Done by Scott A. Standford et al: • UV Irradiation of Simulated Interstellar Medium Resulted in… • Creation of Alcohols, Quinones, and Ethers. • 2) Creation of Membrane-like Droplets.
PAH = Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons Experiment #1: PAH + H20 + UV Irradiation Results in the Production of Alcohols, Quinones, and Ethers
Experiment#1: Materials and Methods Materials Benzene EX: Benzo[ghi]perylene http://www.citycollegiate.com/benzene_orbital9.gif Methodology 1) H2O + PAHs compressed into Ice particle, (H2O/PAH=800-3200) 2) Temperature = 10K 3) UV Irradiation at 2x10^15 Photons / sec (cm) 4) Irradiation Treatment for 200mins 5) Examine the Resulting RESIDUE
Experiment #1: Methodologies Cont. • Result of UV radiation to PAH + H20 http://www.astrochem.org/PDF/Bernsteinetal1999.pdf
Experiment #1: Examining the Residue Method #1: Infrared spectroscopy Result: Discovery of Addition of Functional Groups to the PAH 1. >C=O (Carbonyl) 2. –O-H (Hydroxy) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbonyl Significance of Results: Starting Material: PAHs Stable, Refractory, Unreactive Resulting Product: Functional groups Gain of Reactive Nature; the Ability of the Molecule to React with Other Nucleophiles http://la.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alcohol
Experiment# 1: Examining the RESIDUE Method #2: Mass Spectroscopy Method: Compare Mass Spec. Results of UV Radiated Benzo[ghi]pyrene And Control. Results: - Residue from UV Radiated Sample Contain Additional Oxygen and Hydrogen Atoms http://www.astrochem.org/PDF/Bernsteinetal1999.pdf
Experiment #1: Analysis of Results Species Found in the Residue Belong to a Class of Molecules that Are Necessary Organic Compounds for Primordial Life: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ketone Ex) Ketone + http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quinone Quinones: Made from Ketone Precursors. Quinones Are Crucial for Electron Transport in Simple Organisms
Experiment #1: Analysis of Results Mass Spec. of Corene (another type of PAH) shows Increased Deuterium Enrichment: Method #2: Mass Spectroscopy This Enrichment Profile Is Consistent with that of Organic Globules Found in Meteorites Ex). Organic Globules Found in Tagish Meteorites: 2.5--9 Times Increase in D-enriched http://www.astrochem.org/PDF/Bernsteinetal1999.pdf
http://www.pnas.org/cgi/reprint/98/3/815 Experiment #2: Gas-Mixture (H2O, CH3OH, NH3, CO) + UV Irradiation Results in the Production of Membrane-like Organic Droplets
Experiment#2: Materials and Methods Materials Emulated Interstellar Gas-Mixture: H2O, CH3OH, NH3, CO Methodology • Gas-mixture: H2O, CH3OH, NH3, CO (ratio of 100:50:1:1) was compressed into ice particle • 2) Temperature = 15K • 3) UV irradiation at 10^15 photons/sec • 4) Isolate membrane-like materials use HPLC (High Performance Liquid Chromatography) • 5) Examine the RESIDUE (droplets)
Experiment #2: Observations, Data Results and Anaylsis Observations -Starting Gas-Mixture (H2O, CH3OH, NH3, CO) Was Mostly Polar= Water Soluble. -But Droplets Water Insoluble This INDICATES That, the Subunit Components Making Up the Lipids Found Are Amphiphilic -Have Both Polar and Non-Polar Characteristic-Have Both Hydrophilic and Hydrophobic. Conclusion: UV Irradiation Caused the Formation of Amphiphilic Molecules http://fig.cox.miami.edu/~cmallery/150/memb/bilayer.jpg
Experiment #2: Analysis of Droplet Structures Method: Fluorescent Experiment Hollow Structure Inside of droplets?? YES! http://www.pnas.org/cgi/reprint/98/3/815 Explanation for This Finding: Nakamura : “Formation of Lipid Wall Prevents Further UV to Reach Inside.” Depth of UV penetration Depth of Lipid Wall in Tagish Lake Meteorites = (about 100-200 nm)
*Conclusion* • UV Irradiation on emulated Interstellar PAHs Creates Complex Organic Compounds Crucial for Primordial Life on Earth (Such As Alcohols, Quinones, Ethers, etc), • 2) UV Irradiation on Emulated Interstellar Gas-Mixture (H2O, CH3OH, NH3, CO) Creates Membrane-like Vesicle Droplets Which Highly Resemble Membranes Found in All Cells Today.
So, Now It Is Proven That Organic Materials Found on Earth Can Be Created in an Artificial Interstellar Medium + Also in Reality, Organic Materials Are Discovered in Meteorites, ↓ Justifies the Hypothesis: “Life on Earth Originated in Space , Reaching to Earth via Meteorites”
Further Considerations Organic Droplets Could Potentially Be the Precursors to the Very First Cells that Existed.
E N D. Thank you! Works Cited 1. Max P. Bernstein, Scott A. Sandford, Louis J. Allamandola, J. Seb Gillette, Simon J. Clemett, Richard N. Zare, in Science 283, 5405, (1999), p. 1135-1136 2. Jason P. Dworkin, David W. Deamer, Scott A. Sandford, and Louis J. Allamandola, in PNAS 98, 3, (2001), p. 815-819 3. Keiko Nakamura-Messenger, Scott Messenger, Lindsay P. Keller, Simon J. Clemett, Michael E. Zolensky, in Science 314, 5804, (2006), p. 1439-1442