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Murchison Meteorite Still Contentious

Posted by michael on 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."

7 of 211 comments (clear)

  1. YOU FAIL IT. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Troll

    Quack.
    Once you go quack you'll never go back.

  2. Grady Booch by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Troll

    don't like it when you go stiffy on the monitors...

    take this meteor and crank it butterboy.

  3. Black holes contentious too by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Troll

    There are seven black holes in our galaxy without counting http://goatse.cx

  4. Bring the hordes by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Troll

    Is it troll turdsday already?

  5. How many times... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Troll

    How many times will science have a victory over the church before we can finally kill God for good?

    DARWIN WINS AGAIN!

    >_<

  6. need repost of Old Ike by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Troll
    Saw a great story the other day about "Old Ike". I should have bookmarked it :{
    Could someone post it again?

    Thanks in advance !

    Don't give me no sass or I'll show you my ass ...

  7. Re:Mirror THIS! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Troll

    Holy shit! Thanks for posting this... don't mod it down until you heard it! THIS IS SERIOUS! Scary.