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Scientists discover building blocks of life in ancient asteroid


WHERE and how life began is one of humanity’s most fundamental questions. Now, scientists may be closer to finding an answer. After analyzing tiny uncontaminated samples recovered from the ancient asteroid, Ryugu, they found amino acids, uracil, and niacin – molecules that are critical to life on Earth.

 

Discovering life’s building blocks in these cosmic samples required precision, imagination, and powerful scientific tools, including Thermo Scientific™ Dionex™ ICS-6000 Ion Chromatography System, the Dionex™ UltiMate 3000 UHPLC System and the Orbitrap™ Exploris™ 480 Mass Spectrometer to analyze the sample.

 

Watch our video to learn how Thermo Fisher’s innovative technology enabled this discovery and how it is inspiring the next generation of scientific explorers.


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