Murchison Meteorite Still Contentious

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Murchison Meteorite Still Contentious

Posted by michael on Thursday February 13, 2003 @10:22AM from the tainted-love dept.

An anonymous reader writes "The well-known 1969 meteorite that fell 60 miles north of Melbourne, Australia, remains remarkably contentious today. The 100 kilogram carbon rock : a) contains pre-biotic proteins and 12% water; b) harbors 50 amino acids not found on Earth; c) favors the tell-tale signature of biochemistry based on a dominant left-handed chirality, compared to random or racemic mixtures found in test-tube syntheses. While terrestrial contamination (even interior to the meteor) may discount this so-called 'Murchison meteor', its light isotopes of carbon and nitrogen suggest the left-handed amino acids not found elsewhere on Earth have the same ratios as the right-handed ones. This would not be the case if, say, bacteria was just making the left-handed ones after impact. Seems quite a controversy from down-under."

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Re:Well known? by Anonymous Coward · 2003-02-13 10:27 · Score: 5, Funny

Guess the DNA spiral the other way just like the water in the toilet down under. ;)
Leftorium by The_Rippa · 2003-02-13 10:29 · Score: 5, Funny

And chunks of it are now on sale at Ned Flander's Leftorium.

Fan-diddly-tastic!
Sounds like lawyer talk to me!. by setrops · 2003-02-13 10:32 · Score: 5, Funny

I m just a simple caveman, your fire scares me. These pre-biotic proteins you speak of are unfamiliar to me!
The real test... by Anonvmous+Coward · 2003-02-13 10:33 · Score: 3, Funny

.. is find and orifice and pump the meteorite full of shampoo. If all the 'life' on it dies, then it's extra terrestrial. :D
Re:Blah, Blah Blah.... by nomadic · 2003-02-13 11:06 · Score: 4, Funny

This is slashdot, so you're expecting to nod knowingly and pretend you understand it. Or do you really think all those people who discuss quantum mechanics at length really know what they're talking about?
chirality by psychogentoo · 2003-02-13 11:10 · Score: 3, Funny

favors the tell-tale signature of biochemistry based on a dominant left-handed chirality
Sounds very sinister. :)
Re:Blah, Blah Blah.... by Cyno01 · 2003-02-13 11:13 · Score: 3, Funny

It's quantum physics, you can't know what your talkign about. Reminds me of a /. sig i saw, "Quantum Theory; Calvinball for grown-ups."

--
"Sic Semper Tyrannosaurus Rex."
It's really quite obvious ... by Snork+Asaurus · 2003-02-13 11:33 · Score: 4, Funny

If the meteorite had landed north of the equator, they'd have found mostly laevo-rotatory amino acids. Since, it landed down under, where everything turns in the opposite direction, they found mostly dextro-rotatory amino acids.
Case closed and make mine a Foster's. G'day.

--
Sigs are bad for your health.
lucky they were pre-biotic proteins... by cyril3 · 2003-02-13 17:09 · Score: 4, Funny

otherwise they would be sitting in a detention centre right now appealing their refusal of refugee status by the Australian Gumment. Bloody alien queue jumpers will not be tolerated.