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Planetary Organic Geochemistry Lab
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The lab explores the origin of life by analyzing meteorites and conducting experiments that recreate the early Earth.
AboutAbout the lab
Exploring the origin of life through meteorites and experiments
The Planetary Organic Geochemistry Lab studies how the building-block molecules of life formed and evolved chemically.
The lab analyzes samples from meteorites and asteroids, and also conducts experiments that recreate the environment of the early Earth.
For the molecules that gave rise to life, there are two hypotheses: that they were formed on Earth, and that they were delivered from outside Earth.
The lab also studies the process by which RNA and proteins form from the building-block molecules of life.
Key terms
- Ribose
- The only sugar that makes up RNA. One of the building-block molecules of life
- Nucleobase
- One of the molecules that make up DNA and RNA
- Polymerization
- A reaction in which amino acids link one after another to form large molecules such as proteins
ResearchResearch themes
Were the molecules that gave rise to life formed on Earth, or delivered from outside Earth? By analyzing samples from meteorites and asteroids and conducting experiments that recreate the early Earth environment, the lab aims to clarify how the molecules of life formed and evolved chemically.
*Illustrative imageBuilding-block molecules of life delivered by meteorites
The lab studies organic matter in meteorites, which has long been examined as evidence for the extraterrestrial-origin hypothesis. In meteorites and in samples that NASA's OSIRIS-REx brought back from the asteroid Bennu, the lab detected for the first time ribose, the sugar that makes up RNA, among other compounds.
*Illustrative imageLife's building blocks produced by asteroid impacts
Using experiments that simulate impacts of asteroids and large meteorites, the lab examines which building-block molecules of life can form. It has shown that amino acids, which make up proteins, and nucleobases, which make up nucleic acids, are produced.
*Illustrative imageExploring the origin of RNA
RNA carries part of the genetic information and also acts as a catalyst, like an enzyme. The lab investigates how boric acid, present in the early Earth environment, acts in RNA formation, and has shown that it stabilizes ribose and promotes the selective formation of nucleotides.
*Illustrative imageExploring the origin of proteins
The lab tackles the questions of whether proteins formed before the birth of life and under what environments they formed. It studies how amino acids polymerized in the dry environments of the early Earth to produce primitive proteins.
MembersFaculty
The members of the Planetary Organic Geochemistry Lab are faculty members and PhD, master's, and undergraduate students.As of 2026
- ProfessorYoshihiro Furukawa
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Report an errorAbout the images
The top and research theme images are illustrative and were not taken at the lab. They are cropped from Wikimedia Commons images. Cropped CC BY-SA images are provided under the same CC BY-SA license as the original (version shown on each line).
- Top image: “Kolang Meteorite” Ahmad Fairuz / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Building-block molecules of life delivered by meteorites: “Murchison-meteorite-ANL” United States Department of Energy; uploaded en wikipedia by en:User:Carl Henderson. / Public domain (cropped)
- Life's building blocks produced by asteroid impacts: “Impact breccia (Early Permian, ~280 Ma; Terny Impact Crater, Ukraine) 1” James St. John / CC BY 2.0 (cropped)
- Exploring the origin of RNA: “DNA RNA structure (full)” Thomas Shafee / CC BY 4.0 (cropped)
- Exploring the origin of proteins: “Myoglobin” →AzaToth / Public domain (cropped)
- Related lab (Early Solar System Evolution Lab): “Northwest Africa (NWA) 2224 Meteorite Thin Section” Solaranamnesis / CC0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Resources and Environmental Geochemistry Lab): “Analyse des éléments chimiques dans l'eau (Ifremer )” Stephane Lesbats / CC BY 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Mineralogy Lab): “Natural Mineral Crystal Display” QueenCityCebu / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Quantum Beam Earth Science Lab): “U.S. Department of Energy - Science - )” U.S. Department of Energy from United States / Public domain (cropped)
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