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ColeWRS t1_jd6c9pw wrote

Very interesting. What would be more interesting in my opinion is if multiple different “building blocks of life” were found on the same asteroid. I wonder if any space experts could speak on this, or whether what I described has already been found? Imagine if a piece of earth flew off, one would imagine it would contain a few different molecules required for life, not just one.

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brettmjohnson t1_jd6hjx0 wrote

It might be likely that the multiple "building blocks of life" arrived on different asteroids -- basically "BINGO".

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More-Grocery-1858 t1_jd6i9gt wrote

If one assumes these compounds are common enough to be present in numerous asteroid bombardments, then this may well be a contributor to life on Earth.

The more reassuring assumption for me is that this means these compounds likely arise everywhere in the universe as a result of natural processes, lending credence to the idea that life might be common.

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brettmjohnson t1_jd6jrq2 wrote

> The more reassuring assumption for me is that this means these compounds likely arise everywhere in the universe as a result of natural processes, lending credence to the idea that life might be common.

Precisely.

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RedYachtClub t1_jd7v2gi wrote

What are the odds that similar DNA structures also arose on other worlds?

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More-Grocery-1858 t1_jd7y8yd wrote

DNA is one of two common "coding languages" for life on Earth. The other is RNA.

The mere fact that we know of two functioning "coding languages" increases the odds of one of them being found elsewhere.

There may, however, be other possible languages that use the same or similar building blocks in different ways. Scientists on Earth have done some limited research in this area and it looks plausible. This also increases the odds.

Finally, finding these building blocks on objects outside the Earth's atmosphere increases those odds as well.

I can't cite specific numbers, but the chance of discovering alien life looks more promising the more we discover about the universe.

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