New evidence found in meteorites suggests the ingredients for life came from space.
New evidence found in meteorites suggests the ingredients for life came from space.
Scientists at NASA and in Japan confirmed Tuesday they found all five key building blocks of DNA and RNA in space rocks that fell to Earth within the last 100 years,
Scientists at NASA and in Japan confirmed Tuesday they found all five key building blocks of DNA and RNA in space rocks that fell to Earth within the last 100 years,
Astrochemist Daniel Glavin at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center said, "We've completed the set of all bases found in DNA and RNA and life on Earth, and they're present in meteorites
Astrochemist Daniel Glavin at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center said, "We've completed the set of all bases found in DNA and RNA and life on Earth, and they're present in meteorites
Previous research on the same rocks failed to detect all the pyramidines and purines found in DNA and RNA.
Previous research on the same rocks failed to detect all the pyramidines and purines found in DNA and RNA.
Since the 1960s, researchers have been able to detect only parts of the five nucleobases -- adenine, thymine, cytosine, guanine and uracil.
Since the 1960s, researchers have been able to detect only parts of the five nucleobases -- adenine, thymine, cytosine, guanine and uracil.
The study's lead author, Yasuhiro Oba, an astrochemist at Hokkaido University, said the new state-of-the-art technique worked."Our detection method has orders of magnitude higher sensitivity than that applied in previous studies," Oba said.
The study's lead author, Yasuhiro Oba, an astrochemist at Hokkaido University, said the new state-of-the-art technique worked."Our detection method has orders of magnitude higher sensitivity than that applied in previous studies," Oba said.