TNRTB Archive – Retained for reference information
A team of American and German astronomers has put a damper on the naturalistic model for the origin of life. Recently (see TNRTB 04/13/05 and 04/11/05) astronomers officially withdrew their claims that they had discovered two of the simplest prebiotic molecules (glycine and pyrimidine) in the dense interstellar molecular clouds where new stars and planets form. The only other possible astrophysical source where prebiotics could be assembled would be the dense molecular clouds associated with the birth of nebulae (clouds of gas and dust) that arise from large, dying stars. The team searched the best such candidate nebula (named CRL 618) for harboring complex carbon molecules and concluded that “CRL 618 is a good source of large carbon chain species but a very poor source for detecting or producing organic species of biological importance.” This null result is another serious blow to a naturalistic explanation for the origin of life.
Anthony J. Remijan et al., “A Survey of Large Molecules Toward the Proto-Planetary Nebula CRL 618,” Astrophysical Journal 626 (2005): 233-44.
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