Samples from the asteroid Ryugu contain all five nucleobases -- the key building blocks of DNA and RNA. "This strengthens the idea that asteroids may have brought the ingredients for the first living organisms to Earth long ago," reports New Scientist. From the report: Japan's Hayabusa 2 spacecraft...

Samples from the asteroid Ryugu contain all five nucleobases -- the key building blocks of DNA and RNA. "This strengthens the idea that asteroids may have brought the ingredients for the first living organisms to Earth long ago," reports New Scientist. From the report: Japan's Hayabusa 2 spacecraft...

Researchers said the discovery does not mean life formed in space but “reinforces the hypothesis that carbonaceous asteroids contributed to the prebiotic chemical inventory of early Earth.”

Researchers said the discovery does not mean life formed in space but “reinforces the hypothesis that carbonaceous asteroids contributed to the prebiotic chemical inventory of early Earth.”

All the essential ingredients to make the DNA and RNA underpinning life on Earth have been discovered in samples collected from the asteroid Ryugu, scientists said Monday. The discovery comes after these building blocks of life were detected on another asteroid called Bennu, suggesting they are abundant throughout the solar…