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Tue Jan 12 14:01:07 1982
life from comets
a229 1300 12 Jan 82
AM-Life From Comets,500
Astronomer Says 'Seeding' Theory Gaining Acceptance
By JACK A. SEAMONDS
Associated Press Writer
TOLEDO, Ohio (AP) - An astrophysicist says there is growing
acceptance of the theory that comets ''seeded'' a barren Earth
billions of years ago with the ingredients for life.
Dr. Armand Delsemme, a professor at the University of Toledo, said
that during a meeting last week in Mountain View, Calif., a consensus
of scientists agreed that the theory is growing as more is learned
about the ''rich'' chemistry in outer space.
He said the meeting at the National Aeronautics and Space
Administration's Ames Research Laboratory argued only about how - not
whether - the ''seeding'' took place.
''Essentially, the elements in our bodies are 99.9 percent of the
group including hydrogen, carbon, nitrogen and oxygen,'' Delsemme said
in an interview Monday. ''The same elements are found in the sea, but
they are not found in the interior of the Earth.''
''The question is, how did these elements get to Earth, where they
clearly are in abundance? Where did the ocean itself come from?
Through research in astronomy, we have found that all these same
elements ... exist in outer space, and that with these fundamental
elements we have the building blocks of life itself.''
He said astrophysicists have detected 52 interstellar molecules of
organic compounds in space.
''In addition, we found that there are huge concentrations of water
in space. In addition, we found what could be called two precursors
of life, the compounds formaldehyde and hydrogen cyanide.
''Starting with only these three molecules, we can make all the
amino acids, which are the basic stones with which life is built,''
Delsemme said.
The key link missing in the chain, he said, is linking the molecules
to the development of life on Earth and, perhaps, on other planets.
Also being sought, Delsemme said, are methods to detect whether
amino acids themselves exist in space. ''We have found evidence of the
lightest of these, glycine, and it is very likely we will find others
once we can identify them with radio-telescopes,'' he said.
Delsemme said that as the Earth was developing it was preiodically
''swept'' by comets' tails, which left cosmic dust that he believes
carried the elements basic to life.
Delsemme and other scientists speculate that the dust accounts for
the Earth's crust, which is rich in nitrogen, hydrogen and other
elements essential to agriculture.
''This gradual process would have been accomplished by 100 billion
comets in a vast cloud surrounding our solar system,'' Delsemme said.
The Earth's oceans are probably the result of melting the cosmic
dust, which included large amounts of space ''frost,'' he said.
''If you consider the Earth has existed for more than 4 billion
years, and life has been in existence on Earth for only a half-billion
years, you see the development of life happened rather quickly,''
Delsemme said.
''Something almost automatic happened, but so far we don't know
exactly how ... But I believe within the next 20 years ... we will
know how it happened because of the advancements being made in the
biological sciences and astronomy.''
ap-ny-01-12 1557EST
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