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RNA compound and vitamin B3 found in samples from near-Earth asteroid

cnn.com

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Re: RNA compound and vitamin B3 found in samples from near-Earth asteroid

#21

Post by sandworm101 »

Aachen wrote: post #17
sandworm101 wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The opposite. If such compounds are common in asteroids absent life, then the rise of RNA/DNA on different planets is more likely to be happening spontaneously, without anything traveling between planets. This finding suggests that some building blocks of life may be very common, increasing the chances of life arising locally without need of panspermia.

Is that the opposite? It's an alternative explanation, but I'm not sure if this is evidence against panspermia either.

Its isn't evidence against, but it is evidence that panspermia is less necessary than previously thought. Should we detect life out there somewhere, the fact that these compounds are more universal decreased the likelihood that that detected life is related to us through panspermia. The fact that life in two places uses RNA no longer means that it must be directly related to the RNA/DNA-based life on earth.

Re: RNA compound and vitamin B3 found in samples from near-Earth asteroid

#22

Post by DoreenMichele »

“Scientists have previously found nucleobases and vitamins in certain carbon-rich meteorites, but there was always the question of contamination by exposure to the Earth’s environment,” said lead study author Yasuhiro Oba, associate professor at Hokkaido University in Japan, in a statement. “Since the Hayabusa2 spacecraft collected two samples directly from asteroid Ryugu and delivered them to Earth in sealed capsules, contamination can be ruled out.”

In other words, there is a history of finding similar compounds on meteorites but under circumstances that made it iffy, at best, to assert these compounds came from space. In spite of debate in comments on HN, this sample constitutes stronger support than we previously had for the idea that these compounds really exist on meteorites in space.

Re: RNA compound and vitamin B3 found in samples from near-Earth asteroid

#23

Post by mtlmtlmtlmtl »

cft wrote: post #2

I wonder if this supports the RNA World life origin hypothesis https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/RNA_world , because Uracil doesn't occur in DNA.

It's my understanding that the RNA world hypothesis is pretty much widely accepted these days anyway. The open question is more how you get to the RNA world in the first place. The RNA hypothesis as such is more an hypothesis of what preceded life based on DNA and protein, and less so a theory of the origin of life from non-life per se.

The two main camps today seem to be "metabolism first" with people like Nick Lane and "genetics first" with people like Jack Szostack.

I used to favour the genetics side but I've been leaning more towards metabolism recently. Lane's research on this has been fascinating.

Re: RNA compound and vitamin B3 found in samples from near-Earth asteroid

#24

Post by aa-jv »

coldtea wrote: post #18
aa-jv wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[flagged]

> You better alert the scientists that they missed something, then! That's some serious business, they must be alerted to their failings immediately! Yes, unimaginable that scientists could have made a mistake that a layman could spot, or just said something to create good PR to their mission, even when it's inaccurate. They also never unwittingly or intentionally BS in their research papers, right? And only a collea…

[flagged]

Re: RNA compound and vitamin B3 found in samples from near-Earth asteroid

#25

Post by blackoil »

spontanious wrote: post #19
andrewstuart wrote: post #4

ASTEROIDS! Crunchy rocks of breakfast cereal from the depths of space! Delicious with cold milk. Fortified with RNA compound and vitamin B3. No added complex organic molecules.

I just want Asteroid that tastes like real Asteroid!

Yes. Don't fall for the propaganda. It is all Big Asteroid!!!

Re: RNA compound and vitamin B3 found in samples from near-Earth asteroid

#26

Post by bilbo0s »

Aachen wrote: post #17
sandworm101 wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The opposite. If such compounds are common in asteroids absent life, then the rise of RNA/DNA on different planets is more likely to be happening spontaneously, without anything traveling between planets. This finding suggests that some building blocks of life may be very common, increasing the chances of life arising locally without need of panspermia.

Is that the opposite? It's an alternative explanation, but I'm not sure if this is evidence against panspermia either.

Just to complete the circle:

The opposite would be Earth was hit by other objects in the distant past, and the collision blew large chunks of Earth into space. Complete with B3 and RNA. (Especially credible as the body in question is a near Earth asteroid.)

All the posited explanations are reasonable hypotheses in my opinion.

Re: RNA compound and vitamin B3 found in samples from near-Earth asteroid

#27

Post by haswell »

mromanuk wrote: post #16
schappim wrote: post #5

This has gotta add weight to the Panspermia hypothesis. Panspermia is a hypothesis that suggests life on Earth may have originated from microorganisms or organic matter that traveled through space, potentially from other planets or moons in our solar system or even from other star systems.

pseudo-panspermia, the blocks of life comes from space, but life emerges in a planet.

> the blocks of life comes from space, but life emerges in a planet.

This is the theory of panspermia. No pseudo prefix required.

Re: RNA compound and vitamin B3 found in samples from near-Earth asteroid

#28

Post by mtlmtlmtlmtl »

aa-jv wrote: post #15
coldtea wrote: post #11

> “Since the Hayabusa2 spacecraft collected two samples directly from asteroid Ryugu and delivered them to Earth in sealed capsules, contamination can be ruled out.” I seriously doubt that it could be "ruled out" just like that. For one, the spacecraft (or the empty capsules) could have been pre-contaminated before their launch. Second, the capsules could have been contaminated after arrival even if they were "sealed…

[flagged]

Reading this comment I couldn't help but remember the research showing extremophiles replacing phosphorous with arsenic in their DNA backbone. NASA held a big press conference and made a huge deal out of its potential implications for extraterrestrial life. It was later found that the data was inherently flawed(possibly even doctored? My memory fails me) due to arsenic contamination of samples. Retracted.

Things like this do happen, and more frequently than one might expect.

Re: RNA compound and vitamin B3 found in samples from near-Earth asteroid

#29

Post by gehwartzen »

Aachen wrote: post #14
coldtea wrote: post #11

> “Since the Hayabusa2 spacecraft collected two samples directly from asteroid Ryugu and delivered them to Earth in sealed capsules, contamination can be ruled out.” I seriously doubt that it could be "ruled out" just like that. For one, the spacecraft (or the empty capsules) could have been pre-contaminated before their launch. Second, the capsules could have been contaminated after arrival even if they were "sealed…

I wonder if there's a "control group": a tiny but identical container that goes through all the same steps. Nothing can ever be proof that it wasn't contaminated or a seal was broken on the real but not the control container, like, nothing will convince an Internet conspiracy theorist, but a control vessel and a handful such missions ought to prove beyond reasonable doubt that it wasn't contaminated from earth. I'm p…

I don't know how they do it but I always thought the best way would be to have the probe place them in glass ampules and seal them while still in space.
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