Scientists argue comets' role in origin of life

Abstract

Man is formed not only of the biblical dust of the ground; he can now trace his origins to the dust of stars. —Biochemist Sidney W. Fox of the University of Miami Did the first living organisms on Earth originate on this planet? Or did comets seed primordial Earth with the organic precursors of life, or perhaps even with primitive life forms? Do some comets contain a watery environment congenial to the origin of life? Are interstellar dust clouds populated with bacteria—either living or dead? These are some of the more intriguing and controversial questions that were argued by scientists recently at a colloquium entitled Comets and the Origin of Life. The conference took place at the University of Maryland's College Park campus, and brought together chemists, biologists, physicists, and planetary scientists into sometimes lively debate on the mystery of the origin of life. The colloquium once again allowed the two major opposing viewpoints in ...