#nucleobases — Public Fediverse posts

Organic #molecules delivered from #extraterrestrial materials may have played a key role in supplying building blocks for #life on #Earth.

Now scientists report all five canonical #nucleobases—purines (#adenine and #guanine) and pyrimidines (#cytosine, #thymine and #uracil)—in samples returned from the C-type #asteroid (162173) #Ryugu.

Samples from Ryugu, #Bennu and #Orgueil, which have a similar mineralogy and elemental composition, show purine-to-pyrimidine ratios negatively correlating with #ammonia.

These observations indicate that the nucleobases in these samples may have formed via a shared pathway depending on the physicochemical environment of the respective parent bodies.

The detection of diverse nucleobases in asteroid and meteorite materials demonstrates their widespread presence throughout the Solar System and reinforces the hypothesis that carbonaceous asteroids contributed to the #prebiotic chemical inventory of early Earth.

#astronomy #astrobiology
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41550-026-02791-z

Organic #molecules delivered from #extraterrestrial materials may have played a key role in supplying building blocks for #life on #Earth.

Now scientists report all five canonical #nucleobases—purines (#adenine and #guanine) and pyrimidines (#cytosine, #thymine and #uracil)—in samples returned from the C-type #asteroid (162173) #Ryugu.

Samples from Ryugu, #Bennu and #Orgueil, which have a similar mineralogy and elemental composition, show purine-to-pyrimidine ratios negatively correlating with #ammonia.

These observations indicate that the nucleobases in these samples may have formed via a shared pathway depending on the physicochemical environment of the respective parent bodies.

The detection of diverse nucleobases in asteroid and meteorite materials demonstrates their widespread presence throughout the Solar System and reinforces the hypothesis that carbonaceous asteroids contributed to the #prebiotic chemical inventory of early Earth.

#astronomy #astrobiology
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41550-026-02791-z

Organic #molecules delivered from #extraterrestrial materials may have played a key role in supplying building blocks for #life on #Earth.

Now scientists report all five canonical #nucleobases—purines (#adenine and #guanine) and pyrimidines (#cytosine, #thymine and #uracil)—in samples returned from the C-type #asteroid (162173) #Ryugu.

Samples from Ryugu, #Bennu and #Orgueil, which have a similar mineralogy and elemental composition, show purine-to-pyrimidine ratios negatively correlating with #ammonia.

These observations indicate that the nucleobases in these samples may have formed via a shared pathway depending on the physicochemical environment of the respective parent bodies.

The detection of diverse nucleobases in asteroid and meteorite materials demonstrates their widespread presence throughout the Solar System and reinforces the hypothesis that carbonaceous asteroids contributed to the #prebiotic chemical inventory of early Earth.

#astronomy #astrobiology
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41550-026-02791-z

Organic #molecules delivered from #extraterrestrial materials may have played a key role in supplying building blocks for #life on #Earth.

Now scientists report all five canonical #nucleobases—purines (#adenine and #guanine) and pyrimidines (#cytosine, #thymine and #uracil)—in samples returned from the C-type #asteroid (162173) #Ryugu.

Samples from Ryugu, #Bennu and #Orgueil, which have a similar mineralogy and elemental composition, show purine-to-pyrimidine ratios negatively correlating with #ammonia.

These observations indicate that the nucleobases in these samples may have formed via a shared pathway depending on the physicochemical environment of the respective parent bodies.

The detection of diverse nucleobases in asteroid and meteorite materials demonstrates their widespread presence throughout the Solar System and reinforces the hypothesis that carbonaceous asteroids contributed to the #prebiotic chemical inventory of early Earth.

#astronomy #astrobiology
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41550-026-02791-z

Organic #molecules delivered from #extraterrestrial materials may have played a key role in supplying building blocks for #life on #Earth.

Now scientists report all five canonical #nucleobases—purines (#adenine and #guanine) and pyrimidines (#cytosine, #thymine and #uracil)—in samples returned from the C-type #asteroid (162173) #Ryugu.

Samples from Ryugu, #Bennu and #Orgueil, which have a similar mineralogy and elemental composition, show purine-to-pyrimidine ratios negatively correlating with #ammonia.

These observations indicate that the nucleobases in these samples may have formed via a shared pathway depending on the physicochemical environment of the respective parent bodies.

The detection of diverse nucleobases in asteroid and meteorite materials demonstrates their widespread presence throughout the Solar System and reinforces the hypothesis that carbonaceous asteroids contributed to the #prebiotic chemical inventory of early Earth.

#astronomy #astrobiology
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41550-026-02791-z

"n a study published in Nature Astronomy today, a team of Japanese scientists has confirmed all five nucleobases are present in this pristine asteroid [Ryugu] material.

This means these ingredients for life may have been widespread throughout the Solar System in its early years."

https://theconversation.com/all-5-fundamental-units-of-lifes-genetic-code-were-just-discovered-in-an-asteroid-sample-278099

#Asteroids #Ryugu #Samples #Molecules #Nucleobases

Uracil in the carbonaceous #asteroid (162173) Ryugu: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-023-36904-3 - the "initial analysis team for the soluble #organic matter reported the detection of wide variety of organic molecules including racemic amino acids in the Ryugu samples. Here we report the detection of #uracil, one of the four #nucleobases in ribonucleic acid, in aqueous extracts from #Ryugu samples."