'Bouncing' Comets: Life's Cosmic Delivery Service

Researchers from the University of Cambridge have shown how comets could deliver molecular building blocks for life to other planets in the galaxy. Comets traveling at slow speeds could be passed or "bounced" from the orbit of one planet to another in closely orbiting systems, eventually crashing onto a planet's surface and delivering intact molecules. Comets are known to contain prebiotic molecules, such as amino acids and vitamin B3, which are essential for the origins of life. The study suggests that such systems would be promising places to search for life outside our solar system.