Abstract
THAT carbonaceous meteorites contain organic substances has been known for more than a century, and during this time controversies developed concerning whether or not this organic material was a product of extraterrestrial life. Within the past few years studies of carbonaceous meteorites have provided solid evidence that certain organic compounds are indigenous and were most likely produced by non-biological, chemical syntheses1–7. These studies have emphasised the occurrences of amino acids and hydrocarbons in two C2 carbonaceous chondrites, the Murray and the Murchison. We have now found in specimens of both of these meteorites straight and branched-chain mono-carboxylic acids having two to eight carbon atoms. Although many of these acids are of biological significance, the distribution of compounds in these meteorites supports the proposition that they, like the amino acids and hydrocarbons, result from non-biological, chemical syntheses.
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YUEN, G., KVENVOLDEN, K. Monocarboxylic Acids in Murray and Murchison Carbonaceous Meteorites. Nature 246, 301–303 (1973). https://doi.org/10.1038/246301a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/246301a0
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