Organic compounds essential for life have been discovered in samples collected from a distant asteroid by Japan’s Hayabusa2 spacecraft. The compounds discovered include niacin, which is also known as vitamin B3, and uracil, one of the four nucleobases. Nucleobases are nitrogen-containing compounds that make up RNA, which is a molecule present in all living cells and has structural similarities to DNA.
“Scientists have previously found nucleobases and vitamins in certain carbon-rich meteorites, but there was always the question of contamination by exposure to the Earth’s environment,” said lead researcher Prof Yasuhiro Oba of Hokkaido University.
This story is from the May/June 2023 edition of Very Interesting.
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This story is from the May/June 2023 edition of Very Interesting.
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