The discovery of a key component of RNA in samples from asteroid Ryugu adds weight to the theory that basic organic molecules may have arrived on Earth from outer space.
The star system V883 Orionis contains a rare star surrounded by a disk of gas, ice and dust.
A. Angelich (NRAO/AUI/NSF)/ALMA (ESO/NAOJ/NRAO)
Astronomers have long known where water is first formed in the universe and how it ends up on planets, asteroids and comets. A recent discovery has finally answered what happens in between.
Ancient rocks from Western Australia may not contain the world’s oldest fossils – but they do preserve organic compounds that may have formed the raw materials for the first living cells.
Sarah McMullan / UKFN / Global Fireball Observatory
The chemical reaction that forms essential biomolecules like proteins and DNA normally doesn’t occur in the presence of water. Microdroplets provide a unique environment that make it possible.
Image of Ryugu taken by the Hayabusa 2 spacecraft in 2018.
JAXA/wikipedia
It looks like a broken barbeque brickette, but the newfound meteorite is a capsule of the Solar System’s history that could reveal the secrets of the origin of life.
Artist impression of Hayabusa 2 approaching asteroid Ryugu.
Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt (DLR)/wikipedia
How ancient microbes survived in a world without oxygen has been a mystery. Scientists discovered a living microbial mat that uses arsenic instead of oxygen for photosynthesis and respiration.