Precursors to life found on comet

[The Pixie]

Comets harbor the most pristine material in our solar system in the form of ice, dust, silicates, and refractory organic material with some interstellar heritage. The evolved gas analyzer Cometary Sampling and Composition (COSAC) experiment aboard Rosetta’s Philae lander was designed for in situ analysis of organic molecules on comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. Twenty-five minutes after Philae’s initial comet touchdown, the COSAC mass spectrometer took a spectrum in sniffing mode, which displayed a suite of 16 organic compounds, including many nitrogen-bearing species but no sulfur-bearing species, and four compounds—methyl isocyanate, acetone, propionaldehyde, and acetamide—that had not previously been reported in comets.

http://www.sciencemag.org/content/349/6247/aab0689

You need an account for the full paper, but there is a popular science article here:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-33720951

The authors conclude that the complexity of the comet's chemical makeup, and the presence of organics containing nitrogen, "imply that early solar system chemistry fosters the formation of prebiotic material in noticeable concentrations".
...
"It confirms there is organic chemistry throughout the universe, that carbon-containing compounds, some of which are very complex, could be being formed on comets in our solar system."

The article also says:

This supports the theory that comets may have seeded the early Earth with the ingredients for life.

I do not see why. Seems to me an equally valid conclusion is that these molecules will form anywhere - including on pre-biotic Earth, and in that case they would not have to survive the extreme heat of entering the earth's atmosphere and impact with the planet surface.

[rwatts]

http://www.sciencemag.org/content/349/6247/aab0689

You need an account for the full paper, but there is a popular science article here:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-33720951

The article also says:

I do not see why. Seems to me an equally valid conclusion is that these molecules will form anywhere - including on pre-biotic Earth, and in that case they would not have to survive the extreme heat of entering the earth's atmosphere and impact with the planet surface.

I see too, that some mysterious spectral bands have now been identified, after a long and hard search. Buckyballs:-

http://www.nature.com/nature/journal...ture14566.html

There is this neat link:-

http://www.kroto.info/dibs/