The cosmic factory makes basic materials of life

British and American scientists have discovered collisions between comets full of ice and planets that can create amino acids, the basic material of life.

Comets filled with ice may have created life on earth - (Photo: Gizmodo)

According to the journal Nature Geoscience , the research team at Imperial College London, University of Kent (UK) and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (USA), said that if an asteroid hits a planet full of ice on the surface, the amino acid will also be created.

Experts discovered that when a comet hit a planet's surface, the impact created a shockwave that triggered the formation of molecules that make up amino acids. The shock wave also generates heat, which helps these molecules convert into amino acids.

Experts claim this may be the 'cosmic factory' that produces the basic material of life on Earth between 3.8 and 4.5 billion years ago. Meanwhile, the earth is continuously bombarded by comets and meteors.

Dr. Mark Price, of the University of Kent, stressed that the study shows an extremely simple mechanism, a combination of simple molecules such as water or carbon dioxide, which creates complex molecules like amino acids.