Publications by authors named "Danna Qasim"

We report new computational and experimental evidence of an efficient and astrochemically relevant formation route to formaldehyde (HCO). This simplest carbonylic compound is central to the formation of complex organics in cold interstellar clouds and is generally regarded to be formed by the hydrogenation of solid-state carbon monoxide. We demonstrate HCO formation the reaction of carbon atoms with amorphous solid water.

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Uracil is one of the four RNA nucleobases and a component of meteoritic organics. If delivered to the early Earth, uracil could have been involved in the origins of the first RNA-based life, and so this molecule could be a biomarker on other worlds. Therefore, it is important to understand uracil's survival to ionizing radiation in extraterrestrial environments.

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We present a study of the reactions of the meteoritic mineral schreibersite (Fe,Ni)3P, focusing primarily on surface chemistry and prebiotic phosphorylation. In this work, a synthetic analogue of the mineral was synthesized by mixing stoichiometric proportions of elemental iron, nickel and phosphorus and heating in a tube furnace at 820 °C for approximately 235 hours under argon or under vacuum, a modification of the method of Skála and Drábek (2002). Once synthesized, the schreibersite was characterized to confirm the identity of the product as well as to elucidate the oxidation processes affecting the surface.

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