Titan is making DNA. Or could be.

The Daily Galaxy says Saturn’s big moon, Titan, could be a life-making machine:

Saturn’s moon Titan has many of the components for life without liquid water. But the orange hydrocarbon haze that shrouds the planet’s largest moon could be creating the molecules that make up DNA without the help of water – an ingredient widely thought to be necessary for the molecules formation according to a 2011 international study.

Paul Davies, a leading authority in astrobiology, director of BEYOND: Center for Fundamental Concepts in Science and co-director of the ASU Cosmology Initiative, says: “To the best of our knowledge, the original chemicals chosen by known life on Earth do not constitute a unique set; other choices could have been made, and maybe were made if life started elsewhere many times.”

Researchers warn however that although Titan’s atmosphere is creating these molecules, that doesn’t mean that the molecules are combining to form life, But the finding could entice astrobiologists to consider a wider range of extrasolar planets as potential hosts for at least simple forms of organic life, the team of scientists from the US and France suggests.

Tags: astronomy, biochemistry