Cometary Impacts May Have Provided Key Elements of Life 85
trendspotter writes with news of research indicating that impact events might be responsible for seeding the Earth with reactive forms of the precursors to amino acids. From the article: "Early Earth was not very hospitable when it came to jump starting life. In fact, new research shows that life on Earth may have come from out of this world. Lawrence Livermore scientist Nir Goldman and University of Ontario Institute of Technology colleague Isaac Tamblyn (a former LLNL postdoc) found that icy comets that crashed into Earth millions of years ago could have produced life building organic compounds, including the building blocks of proteins and nucleobases pairs of DNA and RNA. Comets contain a variety of simple molecules, such as water, ammonia, methanol and carbon dioxide, and an impact event with a planetary surface would provide an abundant supply of energy to drive chemical reactions."
The paper (PDF).
So 'Gravity is God'... (Score:5, Funny)
According to TFA, Gravity (capital G) created life (via the kinetic energy of the comets obeying laws of Gravity)
According to Genesis, God created the Universe and life.
Therefore, Gravity = God.
Glad we finally solved that! Can we move on now?
Zombies (Score:4, Funny)
I initially misread the headline as "Cemetery impacts..." and assumed that this was going to be a nice discussion of zombies and/or how to be successful with necromancy.
Unfortunately, once again, it's only a discussion of how to set up abiogenesis.
Re:So 'Gravity is God'... (Score:4, Funny)
hmmm...God is unknowable...and we're having trouble tying Gravity into the universal Theory of Stuff...
My Gravity, he's right!
Re:Except.. (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Wait, what? (Score:4, Funny)
Is this even a new idea?
BTW, did you hear Voyager has left the solar system?