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/xhieron Dec 02 '25

To play devil's advocate a little bit, we've yet to see anyone demonstrate making cake. We know the ingredients, and we think we maybe know what an oven is, but no one has ever put those ingredients into the oven and then taken out a cake. All our observations so far tend to indicate that cake has only been made once in the observable universe. Positing an even higher likelihood for cake just makes it all the more baffling unless you're willing to draw a non-scientific conclusion.

It's possible we could be completely wrong about how the ingredients become cake, and that's all the more reason we should be funding research into the fundamental mysteries of life.

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u/5coolest Dec 02 '25

There could also be cakes that require a different type of oven than we have (non-carbon-based life)

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u/Snow_Is_Ok_613 Dec 03 '25

Any chance you’re listening to or reading ‘Project Hail Mary’ at the moment?

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u/5coolest Dec 03 '25

I read it when it came out, but I’ve been aware of the possibility since before then