Sydney Scientists Recreate Cosmic Dust to Probe Life’s Origins

Scientists say cosmic dust may hold clues to how life first formed on Earth.
Researchers usually collect it from meteorites or rare atmospheric fallout.
Now, a Sydney lab has recreated cosmic dust entirely from scratch.
PhD researcher Linda Losurdo produced the dust at the University of Sydney.
The experiment mimics conditions around dying stars using gas, vacuum, and plasma.
Cosmic dust contains CHON molecules, key building blocks of life.
The lab-made dust matches infrared fingerprints found in real meteorites.
Scientists hope this work explains how organic matter reached early Earth.
The findings appeared in the Astrophysical Journal.