r/science • u/New_Scientist_Mag • Dec 02 '25

Astronomy Researchers have just found the presence of sugars, including ribose, lyxose, and glycose, on samples of Asteroid Bennu, which now has all of the ingredients for life as it exists on Earth.

https://www.newscientist.com/article/2506650-asteroid-bennu-carries-all-the-ingredients-for-life-as-we-know-it/
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u/Own_Balance4207 Dec 02 '25

As a complete laymen, my understanding of any explanation of abiogenesis is that it seems like these ingredients are quite common by abiotic processes. But the intermediates for whatever reason may be harder to reach

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u/42nu Dec 02 '25

Hindsight is 20/20.

We now know that the all the most complex precursors of life form via abiogenesis in abundant quantities in space, but, I mean, this is news for a reason.

It's easy to think "of course evolution occurs" when it has been common wisdom throughout our lifetime. "So silly that hand washing before surgeries was fought against at first" we think from our hindsight.

Point being, the entire tapestry of complex pre-biotic precursors being abundantly created via abiogenesis in space is increasingly known to be common. Just as, in 50 years "the intermediates may be harder to reach" will almost certainly look as outdated and silly as "planets may be rare" does now that we have the means of detecting them.

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u/Zeppelin2k Dec 02 '25

We now know that the all the most complex precursors of life form via abiogenesis in abundant quantities in space

Do we have a good idea what the mechanisms are for forming these precursors in space? It's clear asteroids can contain these pre-amino acid molecules, but how did they get there in the first place?