First Extraterrestrial Protein Discovered
The first known protein to be originated in space, located in a meteorite that fell to Earth 30 years ago, was discovered by scientists. The first extraterrestrial protein has been identified by scientists.
30 years ago, Acfer 086, the meteorite hit Algeria and this meteorite is found to contain the hemolithin protein. The researchers said in the study located on the arXiv repository that there are two building blocks for life inside the hemolithin, iron and lithium.
The abstract of the study says, “The extraterrestrial origin and the existence of this molecule within the asteroid parent body of the CV3 meteorite class was confirmed by the analysis of the complete spectrum of isotopes associated with each molecular fragment showing 2H enhancements above terrestrial averaging 25,700 parts per thousand (sigma = 3,500, n=15). In other terrestrial contexts, the iron-oxygen-iron grouping has been proposed to be capable of absorbing photons and splitting water into hydroxyl and hydrogen moieties. An iron-oxygen-iron grouping is tipped on this molecule.”
According to The Meteorological Society, in 1990, the meteorite Acfer 086 was discovered and it has a mass of 173 grams.
Chenoa Tremblay, astronomer, and the chemist said, “This would be the
first evidence of proteins existing in space as it is believed that proteins are likely to exist in space.Tremblay added, “We can now be pretty sure about the existence of proteins in space. Starting to find actual evidence about its existence is really exciting and interesting.”
According to reports, it is believed that the hemolithin could have formed nearly 4.6 billion years ago in the proto-solar disk because of the hemolithin in Acfer 086 having a similar structure to proteins on Earth and its similarity to the Oort cloud in its ratio of hydrogen to isotope deterium.
In October 2019, a study was published which suggested that Comet 2I/Borisov, the second interstellar object ever discovered, could be releasing water vapor on its journey, carrying water on it from beyond the solar system.
Does the discovery of the first extraterrestrial protein indicate any signs of life outside Earth?
First Extraterrestrial Protein Discovered – Source
