{"id":198571,"date":"2024-05-29T15:09:50","date_gmt":"2024-05-30T01:09:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=198571"},"modified":"2024-05-29T15:09:50","modified_gmt":"2024-05-30T01:09:50","slug":"sulfur-molecules-from-space","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2024\/05\/29\/sulfur-molecules-from-space\/","title":{"rendered":"Sulfur molecules from space seeded early life on Earth"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading time: <\/span> < 1<\/span> minute<\/span><\/span>

\"diagrams<\/p>\n

Important nutrients for the first living organisms on Earth may have come from space, according to new research from the University of Hawaiʻi<\/span> at M\u0101noa.<\/p>\n

Department of Chemistry<\/a> scientists discovered that certain sulfur-containing organic molecules, called alkylsulfonic acids, can form naturally in space without the presence of life and were delivered to Earth by comets and asteroids. Sulfur-containing organic molecules are essential for life on Earth as they are crucial for many biological processes, such as protein structure and function, enzyme activity, and cellular respiration to incorporate sulfur.<\/p>\n

These organic molecules were created in laboratory simulations that mimic the conditions of interstellar ices found in space. The study also discusses how this discovery could help scientists detect these molecules on comets and asteroids, such as the carbonaceous asteroid Ryugu, providing insights into the chemical processes that might contribute to the origins of life on Earth.<\/p>\n

“Our discovery highlights the creativity and persistence of scientists in solving long-standing mysteries about life’s beginnings, inspiring curiosity and interest in scientific exploration and research,” said 东精影业<\/abbr> M\u0101noa Professor Ralf I. Kaiser who is one of the study\u2019s authors. “Understanding this process can ignite imaginations about our place in the universe and the origins of life itself.”<\/p>\n

“Life as we know it requires sulfur, and ancient water-soluble alkylsulfonic acids are a plausible way to incorporate sulfur into early organisms,” added Mason McAnally, a 东精影业<\/abbr> M\u0101noa chemistry PhD<\/abbr> student and lead author.<\/p>\n

The research findings were published in Nature Communications<\/em><\/a> in May 2024.<\/p>\n

Other authors on the paper include Ashanie Herath, 东精影业<\/abbr> M\u0101noa chemistry PhD<\/abbr> student; Andrew M. Turner, 东精影业<\/abbr> M\u0101noa W.M. Keck Laboratory in Astrochemistry<\/a> assistant director; and Jana Bocková and Cornelia Meinert from Université Côte d’Azur in France.<\/p>\n

The Department of Chemistry is housed in 东精影业<\/abbr> M\u0101noa\u2019s College of Natural Sciences<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

These organic molecules were created in laboratory simulations that mimic the conditions of interstellar ices found in space.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[251,308,1363,568,158,9],"class_list":["post-198571","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-research","tag-chemistry","tag-college-of-natural-sciences","tag-manoa-research","tag-natural-science","tag-publication","tag-uh-manoa","entry","has-media"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/198571","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/16"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=198571"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/198571\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":198574,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/198571\/revisions\/198574"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=198571"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=198571"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=198571"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}