KTALnews.com (KTAL/KMSS) – A sample from the Ryugu asteroid has been revealed to contain all five “building blocks for life on Earth,” according to the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA).
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JAXA’s Hayabusa2 mission aimed to collect samples from a carbonaceous (C-type) asteroid, 162173 Ryugu, which were returned to Earth in December 2020. After thorough analysis, scientists discovered that the samples contained the five “canonical nucleobases” – adenine, guanine, cytosine, thymine, and uracil.
The first four form the double helix structure of DNA, while thymine is replaced by uracil in RNA, suggesting that these molecules can form without the presence of life. To view the full study, visit nature.com/articles/s41550-026-02791-z.
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