RNA base in asteroid samples suggests origins of life on Earth

Tokyo (AFP) March 21, 2023

The black particles from an asteroid some 300 million kilometres away look unremarkable, like pieces of charcoal, but they hold a component of life itself. Scientists have discovered the chemical compound uracil, one of the building blocks of RNA, in just 10 milligrammes of material from the asteroid Ryugu, according to new research published on Tuesday. The finding lends weight to a lon