By Beth Mole
Asteroids and comets that pummeled the solar system billions of years ago may have jump-started life on Earth with an intense zap of energy.
The jolt given off by such explosive impacts would have been strong enough to spark the formation of genetic molecules, scientists report December 8 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Using a high-power laser, the researchers simulated how the collisions’ energy might smash apart a simple primordial chemical into reactive fragments. The researchers spotted the building blocks of genetic material called nucleobases among the molecular rubble.