Episode 52: Forming the Building Blocks of Life
Listen now
Description
Scientists study meteorites, fragments of asteroids or comets that fall to Earth. Inside the space rocks, they have found amino acids, the building blocks of life. Amino acids combine to form proteins, which power life on our planet. How did these seeds of life end up in meteorites? Our guest today believes they formed under intense space conditions, particularly in the interstellar cloud. She is part of a team of scientists that re-created the conditions in a chamber using ice, low temperatures and high radiation. Their experiment yielded significant results, a residue containing the same ingredients for life found in meteorites. Listen now as SwRI Astrochemist Dr. Danna Qasim explains how the building blocks of life may have formed in space, the role of the interstellar cloud and what the process tells us about life on Earth and the possibility of life elsewhere.
More Episodes
Engineers in SwRI’s new Space Robotics Center are developing software to operate robots in space. Robots are called in when a job is too dangerous for humans but they move differently in space. The Space Robotics Center captures cosmic characteristics, like lighting fluctuations and low friction,...
Published 05/28/24
SwRI Senior Research Engineer Dr. Kristin Ulmer is sharing her experience traveling to Turkey in February 2023, just after devastating, powerful earthquakes and aftershocks rocked the region. Thousands died and were injured as buildings and homes collapsed. Ulmer joined a research mission to...
Published 04/15/24
Published 04/15/24