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RNA on Ryugu

26 March 2023
Astronomy, Biology, Evolution

At https://phys.org/news/2023-03-rna-molecule-uracil-asteroid-ryugu.html … after analysis of samples collected from the asteroid Ryugu, via Japanese spacecraft Hayabasa2, researchers say they have found uracil – one of the units that make up RNA. These molecules contain information for how to build and  operate living organisms. In addition, they also found Nicotinic acid [niacin], an important cafactor for metabolism in living organisms. Professor Yasuhiro Oba of Hokkaido University said the building blocks of life are created in space and could have been delivered to earth in meteorites.

Then, at https://phys.org/news/2023-03-lab-oxygen-early-earth-atmosphere.html … we learn that laboratory experiments suggest oxygen in early earth’s atmosphere may have originated from rocks.

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