NASA’s Curiosity Rover Detects Largest Organic Molecules Found on Mars: decane, undecane, and dodecane

• Assembly Index:
  In assembly theory, the assembly index represents the minimal number of steps (or joining operations) needed to build a molecule from its basic building blocks (e.g., monomers).
• Decane's Structure:
  Decane (C10H22) is a straight-chain alkane with 10 carbon atoms. It can be viewed as a chain of 10 methylenes (-CH2-) connected by single bonds.
• Assembly Process:
  To build decane, you can start with a single carbon atom (or a small fragment) and then sequentially add methylenes, effectively "assembling" the chain.
• Calculating the Assembly Index:
  To determine the assembly index, you need to find the shortest path or sequence of steps to build decane. Since decane is a linear chain, you need 9 joining steps to connect the 10 carbon atoms, resulting in an assembly index of 8.

• Example:
  Building "ABRACADABRA" in assembly theory:
  • Start with "A" (1 step)
  • Add "B" to make "AB" (2 steps)
  • Add "R" to make "ABR" (3 steps)
  • Add "A" to make "ABRA" (4 steps)
  • Add "C" to make "ABRAC" (5 steps)
  • Add "A" to make "ABRACA" (6 steps)
  • Add "D" to make "ABRACAD" (7 steps)
  • Add "A" to make "ABRACADA" (8 steps)
  • Add "B" to make "ABRACADAB" (9 steps)
  • Add "R" to make "ABRACADABRA" (10 steps)
  • The assembly index for "ABRACADABRA" is 10.

essentialsaltes said:

The NASA folks hypothesize... "these molecules were remnants of the fatty acids undecanoic acid, dodecanoic acid, and tridecanoic acid, respectively." although those are probably not much more complex.

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essentialsaltes said:

Also...

It’s possible that the Cumberland sample has longer-chain fatty acids, the scientists say, but SAM is not optimized to detect longer chains.

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1. Mother Nature cannot produce life.
2. The [strong] Anthropic Principle rules.

essentialsaltes said:

" The finding, published Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, suggests prebiotic chemistry may have advanced further on Mars than previously observed."

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essentialsaltes said:

My first thought was the mass spectrometer didn't have the mass range, but the googles tell me SAM is good up to 535 Dalton, much bigger than dodecane.

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essentialsaltes said:

Scientists probed an existing rock sample inside Curiosity’s Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) mini-lab and found the molecules decane, undecane, and dodecane. These compounds, which are made up of 10, 11, and 12 carbons, respectively, are thought to be the fragments of fatty acids that were preserved in the sample. Fatty acids are among the organic molecules that on Earth are chemical building blocks of life.

Living things produce fatty acids to help form cell membranes and perform various other functions. But fatty acids also can be made without life, through chemical reactions triggered by various geological processes, including the interaction of water with minerals in hydrothermal vents.

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Hans Blaster said:

I thought that was how you counted from 10 to 12 in Martian:

decane,
undecane,
dodecane,

Clearly a romance language like italian: dieci, undici, dodici,...

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essentialsaltes said:

Scientists probed an existing rock sample inside Curiosity’s Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) mini-lab and found the molecules decane, undecane, and dodecane. These compounds, which are made up of 10, 11, and 12 carbons, respectively, are thought to be the fragments of fatty acids that were preserved in the sample. Fatty acids are among the organic molecules that on Earth are chemical building blocks of life.

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Fact 1:

my question:

where are the molecules decane, undecane, and dodecane found in nature?


ChatGPT said:

Decane, undecane, and dodecane are straight-chain alkanes (hydrocarbons) commonly found in natural sources, particularly in petroleum and biological systems. Here’s where they occur in nature:

1. Crude Oil and Natural Gas – These alkanes are present in varying amounts in crude oil and natural gas, from which they are extracted and refined for use as fuels, solvents, and chemical feedstocks.
2. Plant Waxes – These hydrocarbons are components of plant cuticle waxes, helping to reduce water loss and protect against environmental stress.
3. Essential Oils – Some plants produce small amounts of these alkanes in their essential oils. For example, certain flowers and fruits emit volatile hydrocarbons that contribute to their aroma.
4. Marine Organisms – Some marine bacteria and algae produce hydrocarbons, including medium-chain alkanes like decane, undecane, and dodecane, as part of their metabolic processes.
5. Insects – Some insects, such as ants and bees, use alkanes as part of their cuticular wax to prevent water loss and for chemical communication.

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1. FACT 2: Walt Brown made a prediction many years ago

PREDICTION 38: Bacteria will be found on Mars. Their DNA will be similar to Earth’s bacteria. Furthermore, isotopes of the carbon in Mars’ methane will show the methane’s origin is biological.

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FACT 3:

my question:

do any of the three (molecules decane, undecane, and dodecane) have any isotopes of the carbon in them?

ChatGPT said:

Yes! In nature, decane, undecane, and dodecane can contain carbon isotopes, primarily due to the natural distribution of carbon isotopes in the environment. The key isotopes of carbon that may be present in these molecules are:

1. Carbon-12
   – This is the most abundant isotope (~98.9%) and forms the backbone of most organic molecules.
2. Carbon-13 – A stable isotope that makes up about 1.1% of natural carbon. Some fraction of the carbon atoms in decane, undecane, and dodecane molecules will be 13C depending on their source.
3. Carbon-14 – A radioactive isotope with a very small natural abundance. It is mostly found in biological materials due to atmospheric carbon cycling but decays over time (half-life ~5,730 years). Petroleum-derived hydrocarbons have very little 14C because they come from ancient organic matter where all the 14C has decayed.

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awstar said:

I'm not trying to start an argument, or continue one. Just presenting three facts for your consideration:

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Abstract.
Obtaining carbon isotopic information for organic carbon from Martian sediments has long been a goal of planetary science, as it has the potential to elucidate the origin of such carbon and aspects of Martian carbon cycling. Carbon isotopic values (δ13CVPDB) of the methane released during pyrolysis of 24 powder samples at Gale crater, Mars, show a high degree of variation (−137 ± 8‰ to +22 ± 10‰) when measured by the tunable laser spectrometer portion of the Sample Analysis at Mars instrument suite during evolved gas analysis. Included in these data are 10 measured δ13C values less than −70‰ found for six different sampling locations, all potentially associated with a possible paleosurface. There are multiple plausible explanations for the anomalously depleted 13C observed in evolved methane, but no single explanation can be accepted without further research. Three possible explanations are the photolysis of biological methane released from the subsurface, photoreduction of atmospheric CO2, and deposition of cosmic dust during passage through a galactic molecular cloud. All three of these scenarios are unconventional, unlike processes common on Earth.

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sjastro said:

If scientists are looking for decane, undecane, and dodecane on Mars, are dentists looking for novacane (sic).

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sjastro said:

If scientists are looking for decane, undecane, and dodecane on Mars, are dentists looking for novacane (sic).

I posed the question to GPT-4.

View attachment 362803
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We are doomed AI understands an appalling Dad joke and responds in kind.

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