Scientists say that a new study of meteorites that have touched down from space in the U.S., Canada, and Australia could offer more information on how life began on Earth.
The study was published in the journal Nature Communications and looked at the meteorites, which were initially found to have three of the five chemical components needed to form DNA.
The study suggests the possibility of meteorites like these carrying the same components to Earth early in its history, but the missing two components left several open questions for scientists.
However, researchers shared on Tuesday they now have identified the final two components of the nucleobases — a nitrogen compound crucial in forming DNA's double-helix structure — after reanalyzing the meteorites.
The study's lead author, Yasuhiro Oba, who serves as an astrochemist at the Hokkaido University's Institute of Low-Temperature Science, shared that their process to extract the nucleobases was less harsh than before.
Oba also discussed what the discovery means for science, and while he doesn't think it is the final piece of the puzzle, it is important.
"The present results may not directly elucidate the origin of life on the Earth," Oba said to NBC News. "But I believe that they can improve our understanding of the inventory of organic molecules on the early Earth before the onset of life."
According to astrobiologist and the co-author of the study Danny Galvin, the confirmation leads scientists to believe that meteorites may have been a vital source of organic compounds needed for the emergence of life on Earth.
"This research certainly adds to the list of chemical compounds that would have been present in the early Earth's prebiotic [existing before the emergence of life] soup," Galvin said to NBC News.
But, work is still being done to understand the events that took place when life began on Earth, and chemical compounds came together to change the environment that allowed early life to reproduce.
"There is still much to learn about the chemical steps that led to the origin of life on Earth — the first self-replicating system," Glavin said.
The three meteorites examined included one that fell in the U.S. in 1950, one that fell in 1969 in Australia, and one that fell in 2000 in Canada. All three are classified as carbonaceous chondrites, made of rock thought to have formed early in the solar system's history.
"All three meteorites contain a very complex mixture of organic molecules, most of which have not yet been identified," Glavin said.
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