Hexamine – a Key Building Block for Life - Found in Meteorite - The Cosmic Companion Dec. 19, 2020
One of the critical ingredients for life - hexamine - has been found in an asteroid for the first time. How was it hiding in plain sight for so long?
Hexamine — A key material in the building blocks of life — has just been found inside an asteroid. How did it remain hidden in plain sight?
Researchers at NASA and in Japan have found HMT — a key ingredient for life — trapped inside an asteroid. This chemical is used in building other organic materials, including some of the molecules which drive the mechanisms of life.
Life on Earth is based on organic materials, built on carbon and hydrogen. These chemicals often also contain oxygen, nitrogen, and other elements.
Three different carbon-rich meteorites were found to contain a prebiotic organic molecule called hexamethylenetetramine (also called hexamine, or HMT). This chemical, used to treat urinary infections as well as in the manufacture of blasting caps, is thought to play an important role in the development of organic material within asteroids.
Read more: https://thecosmiccompanion.net/hexamine-a-key-building-block-for-life-found-in-meteorite
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