Glycine found in Comet's tail: an end to the 'God Delusion' at last?

Question

http://stardust.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news115.html

"NASA Researchers Make First Discovery of Life's Building Block in Comet." From Bill Steigerwald, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
August 17, 2009

"NASA scientists have discovered glycine, a fundamental building block of life, in samples of comet Wild 2 returned by NASA's Stardust spacecraft. "

"Glycine is an amino acid used by living organisms to make proteins, and this is the first time an amino acid has been found in a comet," said Dr. Jamie Elsila of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. "Our discovery supports the theory that some of life's ingredients formed in space and were delivered to Earth long ago by meteorite and comet impacts."

Q. A.: To social anthropologists: will people of Faith
a) begin to accept the evidence of science and evolution and gradually abandon the notion of creationism
b) accept the scientific facts but adjust their belief systems to accommodate them
c) allow religious fundamentalists to attack science as misinformation (again) and allow their religious leaders to prohibit rational, scientific debate?

What's your guess?

Q. B.: What other precursors of living molecules would you expect to be discovered in space debris next? Presumably they must be able to survive:
a) extremes of temperature
b) a broad range of radiation
c) prolonged absence of liquid water

Care to hazard a guess?

Answer 1

Glycine is a building block of life. This changes no one's beliefs. If you found iron on another planet, would that be proof of the existence of airplanes there?



Organic chemicals have been discovered in space before. For example, this article describes a huge cloud of methanol in space.



http://www.physorg.com/news63346824.html



Here is an article about a meteorite with a number of amino acids in it, not just glycine:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murchison_meteorite



Some people do allow their beliefs to be shaped by science. However, others do not, and some glycine in a comet won't convince them.

Answer 2

1. Nothing changes. People are people.

Galileo made discoveries. The Church said he was wrong.

The Church issued an apology 300 years later.

The Vatican now has a very sophisticated telescope which does world-class research.

Many people think it shouldn't. Can't win 'em all.

Evolution believers are spread across religious and non-religious alike.

So are anti-evolutionists.



2. Finding organics in space is nothing new. More than 130 different organic compounds had been found in space by 2006, including amino acids. This is just the first time Glycine has been found in a comet, not the first time it was found in space. Nothing surprising there.



2006 . .http://www.abovetopsecret.com/forum/thread201931/pg1 . . .

May 2000, long before Stardust got to Comet Wild2 . .http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/734780.stm . . . .

Captain's Log::Stardate; cocoa and cakes before beddies time.

100110011000101..beep..beeep...101110..bomp...

System Down...Try Later....beeep..boooom!

Houston, we have a problem...think we hit a comet.

OK, Spacehawk. Take a look for some bugs while you're there.



.

3. Guess. Mars-ipan for topping space cakes.

Answer 3

You might not have been paying attention to the world, but a great majority of Christians worldwide accept the Theory of Evolution.



Creationism is an American problem.

Answer 4

You mean we come from outer space? Wow, that's amazing.



I'm also a Christian who accepts science, Darwin, evolution and probably The Big Bang. Sorry to disappoint you.

Answer 5

but a great majority of Christians worldwide accept the Theory of Evolution. ????



But Jesus believed in creation according to Matthew 19:4



Matthew 19:4 In reply he said: “Did YOU not read that he who created them from [the] beginning made them male and female .

Answer 6

It's possible that the current Swine flu and other Flu viruses arrive here from comets.



visit www.cosmology.net/Comets.html