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The Latest Breaking News from Ryugu

All 5 'letters' of DNA found on an asteroid speeding through our solar system. What do they tell us about the origins of life?

JAXA samples reveal that asteroid Ryugu has a complete set of nucleobases, the building blocks of DNA, suggesting these ingredients of life may be common in the solar system.

LiveScience

Ryugu asteroid sample contains all five key components of DNA, scientists find

A sample collected by the Hayabusa 2 spacecraft from the spinning top-like asteroid contained the nucleobases adenine, guanine, cytosine, thymine, and uracil.

Space

All 5 fundamental units of life’s genetic code were just discovered in an asteroid sample

A new study reveals all five fundamental nucleobases – the molecular “letters” of life – have been detected in samples from the asteroid Ryugu.

The Conversation

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'A genuine surprise': Near-Earth asteroid Ryugu once had 'flowing water' that transformed its insides

A new analysis of asteroid Ryugu hints that the "potentially hazardous" space rock once had flowing water in its core, possibly leftover from the impact that created it.

LiveScience

Scientists find evidence of flowing water on Ryugu’s ancient parent asteroid. 'It was a genuine surprise!'

Water may have flowed on the asteroid that birthed the space rock Ryugu a billion years after it formed, much later than previously thought, changing our perception of the early solar system.

Space

Scientists discover minerals in asteroid Ryugu that are older than Earth itself

Asteroid Ryugu is proving to be one of the most scientifically valuable time capsules in the solar system.

Space

James Webb telescope reveals that asteroids Bennu and Ryugu may be parts of the same gigantic space rock

New data from the James Webb telescope suggests that Bennu and Ryugu — two asteroids recently visited by sample-return missions — are both fragments of a single massive "parent".

LiveScience

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'Like finding a tropical seed in Arctic ice': How a surprise mineral could change the history of asteroid Ryugu

"Its occurrence is like finding a tropical seed in Arctic ice – indicating either an unexpected local environment or long-distance transport in the early solar system."

Space

NASA finds key molecules for life in OSIRIS-REx asteroid samples. Here's what that means

NASA OSIRIS-REx asteroid sample return team has revealed exciting evidence of the precursors of life in the pieces of space rock Bennu.

Space

Japan's priceless asteroid Ryugu sample got 'rapidly colonized' by Earth bacteria

A sample of the asteroid Ryugu returned to Earth by the Hayabusa2 mission was rapidly colonized by terrestrial microorganisms, new research has revealed.

Space

Samples of 'alien' asteroid Ryugu are crawling with life — from Earth

Scientists have found microorganisms crawling over a sample retrieved from the 200 million-mile-distant asteroid Ryugu. But they almost certainly came from Earth.

LiveScience

Asteroid bacteria not aliens after all

A new study of samples from Ryugu found that microorganisms can avoid even stringent contamination controls

Salon

Asteroid pieces brought to Earth help reveal how our solar system's planets and moons grew

Samples collected from the near-Earth asteroid Ryugu have revealed clues about a primordial magnetic field that helped asteroids, planets and moons grow in our solar system.

Space

Jumping on an asteroid: How VR is being used to visit worlds we can never reach

At the 2024 Astronomical Society of Australia's Annual Scientific Meeting, I got to walk on an asteroid in virtual reality. Here's what I found in Ryugu World.

Space

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Space

Journey to JAXA: Why I skipped Mount Fuji and went straight to the Japanese space agency

Japan has many iconic tourist destinations, but one place unlikely to be on many itineraries is about 90 minutes from central Tokyo – and it's just as intriguing as one of the world's most photogenic mountains.

Space

Asteroid Ryugu holds secrets of our solar system's past, present and future

Samples of asteroid Ryugu, collected by the Hayabusa2 spacecraft, have revealed the impact solar winds and tiny space rocks have had on the asteroid itself.

Space

Messenger comets might be why Earth has life, asteroid Ryugu samples suggest

Samples of the asteroid Ryugu, returned to Earth by the Hayabusa2 mission, carry evidence that organic molecules important to life were once delivered to Earth by comets.

LiveScience

8 asteroid discoveries that rocked our world in 2023

This year was one of the biggest ever for asteroid science, with NASA's triumphant return from asteroid Bennu, the grand reveal of organic molecules from asteroid Ryugu, a close look at the gory aftermath of an asteroid collision, and more.

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Space

Life beyond Earth may form in the coldest depths of space, Ryugu asteroid samples reveal

PAHs may be able to form in cold regions of space, affecting what scientists think about the origins of planets and possibility of alien life.

LiveScience

Sample of 'potentially hazardous' asteroid Bennu, which may contain the seeds of life, arrives in UK for analysis

A sample from the asteroid Bennu, collected by the OSIRIS-REx mission, has arrived at London's Natural History Museum for analysis. Scientists are optimistic that it could contain the seeds of life.

The Conversation

A Nasa spacecraft is on course to deliver material from an asteroid to Earth – here's what we could learn

Around 15 years ago, I was on a European Space Agency (Esa) committee, looking at Esa’s strategy for proposed forthcoming space missions. Under consideration was a mission to an asteroid. Over dinner, one of the committee members, an astrophysicist, quizzed me on why we needed to visit one of these…

Inverse

Key Ingredients for Life Found in Sample Retrieved from Near-Earth Asteroid

Hayabusa2 ferried pristine asteroid samples to Earth in 2020. A new study reveals they contain uracil, a key life building block.

The Conversation

New asteroid sample study offers further hints of space origin for the building blocks of life on Earth

How did life come about? The answer to this question goes to the very heart of our existence on planet Earth.

Reuters

Asteroid discovery suggests ingredients for life on Earth came from space

Two organic compounds essential for living organisms have been found in samples retrieved from the asteroid Ryugu, buttressing the notion that some ingredients crucial for the advent of life arrived on Earth aboard rocks from space billions of years ago.

Evening Standard

Key molecule found in all living beings detected in near-Earth asteroid

Findings add to evidence that important building blocks for life could have been delivered to Earth by meteorites, scientists say.

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