Scientists Locate First Extraterrestrial Protein Inside a Meteorite

Scientists have identified a complete protein molecule located in the meteorite for the first time, and they are convinced that it did not come from Earth.

A team of researchers from Harvard and biotechnology companies Bruker Scientific and PLEX Corporation analyzed samples from the meteorite Acfer 086 and found protein components that are chemically different than normal terrestrial protein. They shared with ArXiv on Saturday that “this is the first report of a protein from any extra-terrestrial source.”

Proteins are comprised of components known as amino acides, which are high-energy fuel sources that make up most of the microscopic insides of biological cells. Scientists located amino acid-like molecules in space years ago along with other building blocks that are important to biological life.

As the researchers continue their study they’ve indicated that chains of amino acids have been spotted, but none of them organized to be considered a ‘protein’.

The paper — which has yet to go through academic review or be published in a scientific journal — bolsters the hypothesis that meteorite impacts could have contributed to the development of life on Earth. It’s possible that some of the molecules or compounds necessary for life to emerge and thrive were delivered through a bombardment of space rocks.

The research paper is yet to be peer reviewed or published, but it fortifies the argument that meteorite impacts could have contributed to the creation of life on Earth. It also suggests that some of the molecules and compounds necessary for life to develop were transferred to earth through meteorites hitting the planet from other sources.

The paper doesn’t confirm that there is extraterrestrial life, as well as determine where the protein came from or how it formed. All scientists know is that it’s not from this world.

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