Technology
DNA Building Blocks Found on Asteroid: Answering Questions About Origins
Scientists have again discovered all four DNA bases on an asteroid, answering how these building blocks got there. Understanding this may be critical to understanding how the raw materials for life ended up on Earth.
A paper released this week reported the detection of all four DNA bases on an asteroid. While the headlines omitted that similar results date back to 2011, this new work answers why earlier studies failed to detect them in the Ryugu asteroid sample, despite their presence in others. The new research provides interesting details that may answer an important question of how these bases originated. Both DNA and RNA, the nucleic acids used by life, have a similar structure. That includes a chain that alternates between chemically linked sugars and phosphates.
Key Facts
- All four DNA bases have been found on an asteroid.
- The discovery follows similar findings dating back to 2011.
- Earlier studies had failed to detect the bases on the Ryugu asteroid.
- The new work may explain how the bases got there in the first place.
- DNA and RNA share a similar structure.
- Their backbones alternate between sugars and phosphates.
- Understanding the bases' origins may provide a better picture of how the raw materials for life arrived on Earth.
Primary Source
Research Sources
- Ars Technica — We keep finding the raw material of DNA in asteroids—what's it telling us?