554 Annals New York Academy of Sciences 



exceeding 180° C. than have been found in natural waters on earth. Neither 

 deuterium** nor trace nietaP- abundances in the Orgueil meteorite support 

 Bernal's''^ contention that this carbonaceous chondrite "may be a part of the 

 primitive earth shot ofT hundreds of milHons of years ago and again united to 

 its parent body." 



Calvin'^ obtained the ultraviolet absorption spectra of water extracts of the 

 Murray and Orgueil meteorites in acidic and basic solutions, and he concluded 

 that the absorption wavelengths and the variations in these lengths induced 

 by the addition of acids were suggestive of cytosine, a building block of nucleic 

 acids which are essential components of all living cells. Briggs'''' reported 

 evidence of purines and imidazoles in the Orgueil, Murray, and Mokoia meteor- 

 ites. 



Detailed analyses of the amino acids, amino sugars, and sugars in the Bruder- 

 heim chondrite and the Murray carbonaceous chondrite have been run by 

 Degens and Bajor."'' They determined the quantities of 20 amino acids, 3 

 sugars, and 2 amino sugars as well as the presence of cytosine, uracil, and/or 

 hypoxanthine in the 2 samples.^'' "After complete extraction of all hydrolyz- 

 able matter in the meteorite," the investigators^^ found that "amino acids and 

 sugars could be generated within 3 weeks' exposure to open air in c|uantities 

 about 20 per cent of the original values." Because of the regeneration, com- 

 position, and stabilities of the amino, sugar, and nucleic acid constituents in 

 the Bruderheim and Murray, Degens and Bajor"' proposed that the "organic 

 constituents analyzed are with great probability terrestrial in origin rather 

 than fossil remnants of extraterrestrial life." 



Claus and Nagy have reported "organized elements" in the Orgueil and 

 Ivuna'^ and have observed similar elements in the Alais and Tonk carbonaceous 

 chondrites.'^ These "organized elements" are dissimilar to any known mineral 

 forms but resemble, yet are not identical to certain species of algae. "'^ Recog- 

 nizable, well-preserved terrestrial type organisms, also, were seen in the 4 

 carbonaceous chondrites, but the latter species were present in much smaller 

 numbers than the microfossil-like elements. ''' The terrestrial type organisms 

 were assumed to be contaminants acquired on earth, and they represented the 

 only specimens resembling microorganisms that were found in the Bruderheim 

 and Holbrook chondrite.'^ 



Palynological treatments have provided additional information about some 

 of the "organized elements" in meteorites. Staplin'^ added: (1) hydrochloric 

 acid to remove the carbonates; (2) hydrofluoric acid to remove the silicates; 

 and (3) Schulz solution (nitric acid and potassium chlorate) to bleach the 

 residue that he had obtained by these acid treatments of an Orgueil fragment. 

 The residue contained "recent (organic) contaminants, a very few well-pre- 

 served Cretaceous microfossils, and relatively numerous less well-preserved 

 microfossils of unknown age or affinities. The unidentified microfossils, mostly 

 in the 10 to 100 n size range, superficially resemble certain of the unicellular 

 algae if size, texture, and the presence of an acid resistant pellicle are con- 

 sidered." 



Fox^" has made abiotically double walled carbonaceous particles which he 

 believes may be formed in shapes and sizes that resemble the "organized ele- 

 ments" in meteorites. Fitch et al.,^^ noted that the "organized elements" in 



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