Episode 52: Forming the Building Blocks of Life

Technology Today

Southwest Research Institute

Technology

4.8 • 19 Ratings

🗓️ 20 February 2023

⏱️ 38 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Scientists study meteorites, fragments of asteroids or comets that fall to Earth. Inside the space rocks, they have found amino acids, the building blocks of life. Amino acids combine to form proteins, which power life on our planet. How did these seeds of life end up in meteorites? Our guest today believes they formed under intense space conditions, particularly in the interstellar cloud. She is part of a team of scientists that re-created the conditions in a chamber using ice, low temperatures and high radiation. Their experiment yielded significant results, a residue containing the same ingredients for life found in meteorites. Listen now as SwRI Astrochemist Dr. Danna Qasim explains how the building blocks of life may have formed in space, the role of the interstellar cloud and what the process tells us about life on Earth and the possibility of life elsewhere.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	A team of scientists recreated conditions in space in a chamber.
0:04.8	They formed the building blocks of life in their chamber,
0:08.1	an organic residue that showed a link between space conditions
0:11.5	and the ingredients for life on Earth.
0:14.0	We are exploring this cosmic discovery next on this episode of Technology Today.
0:23.0	We live with technology, science, engineering, and the results of innovative research
0:28.1	every day. Now, let's understand it better. You're listening to the Technology Today podcast,
0:33.2	presented by Southwest Research Institute. From deep sea to deep space, we develop solutions
0:39.2	to benefit humankind.
0:40.9	Transcript and photos for this episode and all episodes
0:44.0	are available at podcast.swri.org.
0:47.8	Share the podcast and hit that subscribe button
0:49.9	on your favorite podcast platform.
0:52.7	Hello and welcome to technology today.
0:54.6	I'm Lisa Fenya.
0:56.0	Today we are talking to SWRI space scientist Dr. Donna Kossum.
1:01.0	She and a team of researchers are working to understand how key building blocks of life may have become encapsulated in solar system objects like asteroids. Part of their research involved
1:12.6	recreating space conditions in a chamber. During their experiment, they made an organic residue
1:18.8	composed of the building blocks of life, and they learned more about how conditions in space
1:24.2	play a vital role in forming the material. Such intriguing work, we're eager to learn
1:30.0	more about it. Welcome and thank you for being here, Donna. Hi, Lisa. Thank you for having me.
1:36.6	Okay, so there's a lot to understand here. So we want to start with a quick biology lesson.
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Southwest Research Institute, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Southwest Research Institute and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.