Boffins have made a massive discovery after finding the ‘letters’ needed to create DNA on an asteroid in space. The ‘letters’ contain important chemistry relating to the origin of life and DNA
Scientists have made a breakthrough discovery after finding an asteroid hurtling through space containing all the “letters” that make up the building blocks of DNA. The breakthrough discovery suggests the ingredient for life could be far more common across the universe.
Space boffins made the discovery after looking at samples collected from an asteroid 3,000-foot-wide (900 meters) called Ryugu publishing their new find in the Nature Astronomy journals on Monday. On the space rock boffins found a complete set of canonical nucleobases. Canonical nucleobases are the building blocks for DNA and its relative RNA – which spends less time in the limelight.
Study lead author Toshiki Koga, a biogeochemist at the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology, has clarified what the findings of this study means for humanity’s search for life in the final frontier. Quickly dismissing the idea the asteroid could have once carried alien life Koga clarified “does not mean that life existed on Ryugu.”
Koga explained: “Instead, their presence indicates that primitive asteroids could produce and preserve molecules that are important for the chemistry related to the origin of life.”
Nucleobases are split into two distinctive different groups depending on their chemical structure. The nucleobases such Adenine and guanine fall under the category of “Purines” due to their double ring structures. Other nucleobases such as cytosine, thymine and uracil fall under the “Pyrimidines” classification due to their single-ring-structured.
All five of these nucleobases were found on Ryugu. In their recent study researchers wrote asteroids may have contributed to the prebiotic chemical inventory of early Earth.
Experts in the study wrote: “The detection of diverse nucleobases in asteroid and meteorite materials demonstrates their widespread presence throughout the Solar System and reinforces the hypothesis that carbonaceous asteroids contributed to the prebiotic chemical inventory of early Earth.”
The recent find isn’t the first time a space rock has been found carrying the five DNA building blocks. Back in 2023, NASA discovered the same set of nucleobases on a similar space object, an asteroid called Bennu. Given these DNA ingredients being found on two asteroids the findings suggest nucleobases could be widespread in the solar system.
César Menor Salván, an astrobiologist at the University of Alcalá in Spain has shared his thoughts on the recent find. Salván – who was not involved in the study – explained: “Do not suggest that the origin of life took place in space.”
Despite this the boffin explained: “With this and the results from Bennu, we have a very clear idea of which organic materials can form under prebiotic conditions anywhere in the universe,” Salván added.
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