Martians could they be our ancestors? - 20minutes.fr

If life arose on Earth, thanks to the metal straight from Mars, delivered directly to our planet by a meteorite, according to a new theory presented Thursday by a researcher. This vital ingredient was presented to us in an oxidized form of molybdenum, a metal used today in alloys for DIY tools or dental crowns.

bombardment of comets

But in ancient times when life appeared on Earth, molybdenum oxide was used to prevent carbon molecules – the building blocks of all life – to deteriorate and eventually tar, says Steven Brenner teacher at Westheimer Institute for Science and Technology in Gainesville (USA). “It is only when molybdenum is highly oxidized it becomes capable of influencing the formation of a primitive life,” said in a statement Steven Brenner, who presented his theory on Thursday at an international conference on geochemistry in Florence, Italy.

“This form of molybdenum could not be present on Earth at the time when the first elements of life appeared, because there are three billion years, the surface of the Earth contained only very few oxygen, unlike Mars, “he says. At the time the solar system was particularly agitated and the Earth was constantly bombarded by comets and asteroids. Our neighbor also in March, which explains how the Martian debris could be thrown back into space to finish their race on Earth, trapped by its gravitational field.

Another hypothesis: the “panspermia”

recent analyzes of a Martian meteorite showed them the presence of molybdenum and boron, a metalloid which would have helped to protect the RNA, a primitive precursor of DNA, corrosion. “There seems to be accumulating evidence that we are actually all Martians and that life began on Mars before coming to Earth on a rock,” says Steven Brenner. “It’s a fluke, because the Earth is by far the better of the two planets to host life. If our hypothetical Martian ancestors remained on Mars, there might not be here to talk about, “says the researcher.

Other theories explain the emergence of life on Earth by the water provided on the blue planet by comets, composed of ice and inherited from the formation of the solar system cosmic dust. Another hypothesis, called “panspermia” suggests that bacteria embedded as stowaways on asteroids have ended up crashing to Earth to grow in its warm and welcoming ocean.

AFP