Building blocks for life found in spaaaaaace

[Chris]

Bio-essential sugars in samples from asteroid Bennu - Nature Geoscience

Samples returned from asteroid Bennu contain bio-essential sugars such as ribose and glucose that may have formed in the parent asteroid from brines containing formaldehyde, according to a geochemical study.

www.nature.com

Pretty cool discovery which adds to the growing picture of life outside of Earth. Can’t imagine for a second that we are the only planet with life in the universe, but this is some nice evidence that’s adding up to prove how likely it is and potentially how abundant life might be, even just at the cellular level.

 

[crosslandkelly]

I still like the theory that meteors brought the building blocks of life to earth.
We are stardust.

 

[Pattree]

Tardigrades riding Meteors?

 

[demented dale]

It's not a surprise. life is absolutely everywhere. That's its job. I reckon its on the moon even. Maybe not in a form we recognise though. There is defo life in the Draco constellation. That's where the earth dwelling Shape shifting lizards come from. DD xxxxx

 

[Tengu]

<Yawns>

Is this new news?

I thought something like it was discovered decades ago. Its long been known that comets contains all sorts of junk

And of course, they distribute it around.

Panspermia wont go away.

 

[oldtimer]

Scientists are still searching for intelligent life on Earth.

 

[HillBill]

Planets are eggs, Comets are sperm... The timescale of the human 9 months is in billenia in universal terms... Everything is reflected in the microcosm and the macrocosm.... As above, so below. Turtles, all the way down, and up.

And no, Obviously i dont expect anyone to take that onboard, or even seriously..."There are more things in Heaven and Earth Horatio than are dreamt of in our Philosophy!" (yes, i know... its Your, not Our, but i felt the change seemed more suited)

 

[GreyCat]

Hoyle and Wickamasingh posited space (comets in particular) as a source of viruses many decades ago and were mocked.

Perhaps they were not so far out.

["Diseases from Space" was their book, can sometimes pick old second hand copies on t'interweb]

GC

 

[Tengu]

Influenza

Comes from the stars

 

[Pattree]

What? Enza flew in?

 

[HillBill]

Hoyle and Wickamasingh posited space (comets in particular) as a source of viruses many decades ago and were mocked.

Perhaps they were not so far out.

["Diseases from Space" was their book, can sometimes pick old second hand copies on t'interweb]

GC

Current evolutionary theory suggests viruses are driving factors.

 

[Pattree]

Last week’s Beano:

They are suggesting that it was a prion - a very nasty protein like the one that caused mad cow disease!

It could as easily traveled on a comet as a virus or a tardigrade even though the “shallow soup bowl” idea (hot puddles and shallow ponds) is preferred.

The OP report is indeed the first time that anyone has seen ALL the necessary molecules for life assembled in one place.

Caveat: this is New Scientist - ie. new thinking on scientific issues which may or may not stand the test of time.