Several studies in recent years have found amino acids, some of the molecules that make up cell membranes, and other key pieces of the chemistry of life floating on grains of interstellar dust. But a recent experiment also found that the reactions that make nitrogen and carbon available for that kind of chemistry could have happened on early Earth — with remarkable efficiency. So which is it? Did life crash-land on our planet or did arise from a bubbling cauldron of planetary ingredients? A growing body of evidence explains how the answer is, well, both. As the researchers explain to Inverse, it’s complicated — and a little bit mind-blowing.
