University of Leeds - Fertiliser, meteorites and life

Scientists are investigating how one of the chemicals in plant fertiliser may have kick-started life on Earth. A £500,000 project at the University of Leeds, funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, will look at how phosphorus may have arrived on Earth via meteorites. The researchers will examine the chemical make-up of samples of iron meteorites donated by Nasa and the Natural History Museum. The study may offer clues about where else there may be life in the Universe.