Ryugu asteroid yields DNA and RNA building blocks, study finds

1 min read
Source: Space
Ryugu asteroid yields DNA and RNA building blocks, study finds
Photo: Space
TL;DR Summary

Two samples from asteroid Ryugu returned by JAXA’s Hayabusa2 contain the five nucleobases adenine, guanine, cytosine, thymine and uracil—the building blocks of DNA and RNA. The find suggests these compounds can form in space without life and may have been distributed across the early solar system, with Ryugu showing different base concentrations than Bennu and meteorites, hinting at diverse formation histories and a wide cosmic availability of life's chemical ingredients.

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