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Carbonaceous chondrites and the origin of lifeOrganic matter in carbonaceous chondrites can be separated into three fractions. The first component, the fraction that is insoluble in chloroform and methanol, has a part which is of interstellar origin. The other two fractions (chloroform-soluble hydrocarbons and methanol-soluble polar organics) are hypothesized to have been synthesized on a planetoid body. We propose that the polar organics, i.e., amino acids, were synthesized close to its surface by the radiolysis of hydrocarbons and ammonium carbonate in a liquid water environment. Some hydrocarbons may have been synthesized by a Fischer-Tropsch mechanism in the interior of the body. Ferrous ion acted as a protection against back reactions. The simultaneous synthesis of iron-rich clays with the polar organics may be indicative of events related to the origin of life on Earth.
Document ID
19930072000
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Reprint (Version printed in journal)
External Source(s)
Authors
Hartman, Hyman
(California Univ. Berkeley, United States)
Sweeney, Michael A.
(NASA Headquarters Washington, DC United States)
Kropp, Michael A.
(Santa Clara Univ. CA, United States)
Lewis, John S.
(Arizona Univ. Tucson, United States)
Date Acquired
August 16, 2013
Publication Date
August 1, 1993
Publication Information
Publication: Origins of Life and Evolution of the Biosphere
Volume: 23
Issue: 4
ISSN: 0169-6149
Subject Category
Space Biology
Accession Number
93A55997
Funding Number(s)
CONTRACT_GRANT: NAGW-114
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Other

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