Amid decade long assumptions on whether there is life on Mars, a path-breaking update says that life on Earth might have come from Mars. Fresh research advocates that Mars was a more suitable planet for life than the earlier version of Earth, billions of years ago. The evidence has been gathered to show how the first set of molecules that are essential for life got assembled.

Professor Steven Benner outlined the details on the theory in Florence at the Goldschmidt Meeting. It has been ages since scientists have been researching how atoms got together first for making up 3 vital molecule components in a living organism: DNA, RNA and proteins.

Prof. Benner from Westheimer Institute for Science and Technology states that the molecules which are combined for forming genetic material turn out to be much more complicated than primordial organic chemicals thought to have existed on Earth over 3 billion years ago. Ribonucleic acid (RNA) is believed to be the first to appear among them. On the other hand, the minerals which are the most effective ones to template RNA would possibly have dissolved in the sea water on Earth. It is, however, more likely to be abundant on the Red Planet, says Prof Benner.

Here starts all the assumptions that life might have started on Mars before it started on Earth. Meteorites might have transported life to Earth from Mars, according to Prof Benner. Nevertheless, this is not the first time it is argued that life had originated on Mars before it did on Earth, but Prof Benner's theories add more strength to the previous theories.

Early Mars appeared to have an environment which was drier than that of Earth. This is another crucial condition that favours Mars over Earth in the race of standing first to originate life.

Article source: BBC