"Scientists on the Rosetta mission have found building blocks for life in the cloud of gas and dust..."

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Scientists on the Rosetta mission have found building blocks for life in the cloud of gas and dust around the icy body known as comet 67P. The discovery backs up the idea that similar “dirty snowballs” could have been involved in kickstarting life on Earth.

The theory that extraterrestrial objects crashing into our planet could have brought chemicals crucial to the emergence of life has long been mooted, with an array of amino acids - the building blocks of proteins - already discovered on meteorites. But the new research adds weight to the notion that comets could also have played a role.

“It shows that even the very primitive bodies like comets contain a complex chemical soup, independent of [the] sun and Earth,” said Kathrin Altwegg, lead author of the research from the University of Bern. “They contain everything needed for life - except energy.

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- We truly are made of stardust (via viperslang)