Amino acids found in asteroid samples brought back from Ryugu
Japanese scientists revealed this week that they have detected more than 20 types of amino acids in the asteroid samples brought back from Ryugu by the probe Hayabusa-2.
Kensei Kobayashi, professor emeritus of astrobiology at Yokohama National University, said the unprecedented discovery of multiple types of amino acids on an extraterrestrial body could even hint at the existence of life outside of Earth. “Proving amino acids exist in the subsurface of asteroids increases the likelihood that the compounds arrived on Earth from space,” he said.
It also means amino acids can likely be found on other planets and natural satellites, hinting that “life could have been born in more places in the universe than previously thought,” Kobayashi added.
Let me emphasize that this is not a discovery of life on Ryugu, only chemistry that is found in life on Earth. Such chemistry however can be found outside of life as well. What this detection suggests however that it is relatively common to produce such complex chemistry in hostile space environments, which increases greatly the possibility of life everywhere in the universe.
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Japanese scientists revealed this week that they have detected more than 20 types of amino acids in the asteroid samples brought back from Ryugu by the probe Hayabusa-2.
Kensei Kobayashi, professor emeritus of astrobiology at Yokohama National University, said the unprecedented discovery of multiple types of amino acids on an extraterrestrial body could even hint at the existence of life outside of Earth. “Proving amino acids exist in the subsurface of asteroids increases the likelihood that the compounds arrived on Earth from space,” he said.
It also means amino acids can likely be found on other planets and natural satellites, hinting that “life could have been born in more places in the universe than previously thought,” Kobayashi added.
Let me emphasize that this is not a discovery of life on Ryugu, only chemistry that is found in life on Earth. Such chemistry however can be found outside of life as well. What this detection suggests however that it is relatively common to produce such complex chemistry in hostile space environments, which increases greatly the possibility of life everywhere in the universe.
Readers!
Please consider supporting my work here at Behind the Black. Your support allows me the freedom and ability to analyze objectively the ongoing renaissance in space, as well as the cultural changes -- for good or ill -- that are happening across America. Fourteen years ago I wrote that SLS and Orion were a bad ideas, a waste of money, would be years behind schedule, and better replaced by commercial private enterprise. Only now does it appear that Washington might finally recognize this reality.
In 2020 when the world panicked over COVID I wrote that the panic was unnecessary, that the virus was apparently simply a variation of the flu, that masks were not simply pointless but if worn incorrectly were a health threat, that the lockdowns were a disaster and did nothing to stop the spread of COVID. Only in the past year have some of our so-called experts in the health field have begun to recognize these facts.
Your help allows me to do this kind of intelligent analysis. I take no advertising or sponsors, so my reporting isn't influenced by donations by established space or drug companies. Instead, I rely entirely on donations and subscriptions from my readers, which gives me the freedom to write what I think, unencumbered by outside influences.
You can support me either by giving a one-time contribution or a regular subscription. There are four ways of doing so:
1. Zelle: This is the only internet method that charges no fees. All you have to do is use the Zelle link at your internet bank and give my name and email address (zimmerman at nasw dot org). What you donate is what I get.
2. Patreon: Go to my website there and pick one of five monthly subscription amounts, or by making a one-time donation.
3. A Paypal Donation or subscription:
4. Donate by check, payable to Robert Zimmerman and mailed to
Behind The Black
c/o Robert Zimmerman
P.O.Box 1262
Cortaro, AZ 85652
You can also support me by buying one of my books, as noted in the boxes interspersed throughout the webpage or shown in the menu above.
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