A group of American scientists found what could be the first protein in a mineral and which could be about 4.6 billion years old.
This finding was achieved after analyzing the Acfer 086 meteorite, which fell in Algeria in 1990. The technique used is new: with the latest generation mass spectrometer.
Although many unknowns have been generated regarding this protein, scientists still cannot establish its origin, although they determine that there can be no life without the presence of proteins.
The study was published on the website of Cornell University
What has been specifically found is glycine, one of the amino acids that make up the proteins of living things and it is linked to iron and lithium.
What makes scientists think that this could be an approach to discover if there is extraterrestrial life, is that hemolithin, as they have named it, has a ratio of deuterium to hydrogen that is not coincident with any of the elements with which We count on Earth.
Although they also specify that this element found might not be a protein but a different molecule.
That is why the group plans to do many more studies to determine and confirm exactly what was found within the meteorite.
“It seems that we are quite sure that it is possible that proteins exist in space. But if we can effectively begin to find evidence of their existence and see what some of their structures and common structures would be, I think it would be very interesting and exciting.” said Chenoa Tremblay, a member of the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO).
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