https://phys.org/news/2026-03-ryugu-asteroid-samples-dna-rna.html Phys.org Topics * Week's top * Latest news * Unread news * Subscribe [ ] Science X Account [ ] [ ] Sign In Sign in with Forget Password? Not a member? Sign up Learn more * Nanotechnology * Physics * Earth * Astronomy & Space * Chemistry * Biology * Other Sciences * Medical Xpress Medicine * Tech Xplore Technology * * share this! * Share * Tweet * Share * Email 1. Home 2. Astronomy & Space 3. Astrobiology 1. Home 2. Astronomy & Space 3. Planetary Sciences * * * --------------------------------------------------------------------- March 16, 2026 Ryugu asteroid samples contain all DNA and RNA building blocks, bolstering origin-of-life theories by Benedicte Salvetat Rey edited by Andrew Zinin [andrew] Andrew Zinin lead editor Meet our editorial team Behind our editorial process Editors' notes This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies. Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: fact-checked peer-reviewed publication reputable news agency proofread The GIST Add as preferred source --------------------------------------------------------------------- The black particles from an asteroid some 300 million kilometres away look unremarkable, but they hold components of life The black particles from an asteroid some 300 million kilometers away look unremarkable, but they hold components of life. All the essential ingredients to make the DNA and RNA underpinning life on Earth have been discovered in samples collected from the asteroid Ryugu, scientists said Monday. The discovery comes after these building blocks of life were detected on another asteroid called Bennu, suggesting they are abundant throughout the solar system. One longstanding theory is that life first began on Earth when asteroids carrying fundamental elements crashed into our planet long ago. The asteroids that hurtle through our solar system give scientists a rare chance to study this possibility. In 2014, the Japanese spacecraft Hayabusa-2 blasted off on a 300-million-kilometer (185-million-mile) mission to land on Ryugu, a 900-meter-wide (2,950-feet-wide) asteroid. It successfully managed to collect two samples of rocks weighing 5.4 grams (under a fifth of an ounce) each and bring them back to Earth in 2020. Research in 2023 showed that these samples contained uracil, which is one of the four bases that make up RNA. The Ryugu asteroid, hurtling through the Solar System The Ryugu asteroid, hurtling through the Solar System. While DNA, the famed double helix, functions as a genetic blueprint, single-strand RNA is an all-important messenger, converting the instructions contained in DNA for implementation. On Monday, a new study by a Japanese team of researchers in Nature Astronomy demonstrated that the samples contained all the " nucleobases" for both DNA and RNA. These included uracil as well as adenine, guanine, cytosine and thymine. This "does not mean that life existed on Ryugu," the study's lead author, Toshiki Koga, told AFP. "Instead, their presence indicates that primitive asteroids could produce and preserve molecules that are important for the chemistry related to the origin of life," added the biochemist from the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology. The discovery also "demonstrates their widespread presence throughout the solar system and reinforces the hypothesis that carbonaceous asteroids contributed to the prebiotic chemical inventory of early Earth," according to the study. Cesar Menor Salvan, an astrobiologist at Spain's University of Alcala not involved in the research, emphasized that "these results do not suggest that the origin of life took place in space." However, "with this and the results from Bennu, we have a very clear idea of which organic materials can form under prebiotic conditions anywhere in the universe," he added. Ingredients of life discovered in Ryugu asteroid samples Microscope images of Ryugu samples collected from the first and second touchdown sites of the Hayabusa2 mission, respectively. Credit: JAXA / JAMSTEC "Unique" ammonia finding Last year, the same building blocks were found in fragments brought back to Earth by NASA from the asteroid Bennu. Scientists have also detected their presence in the meteorites Orgueil and Murchison, which were part of asteroids that fell to Earth. For the new research, the Japanese team compared the amount of each nucleobase detected in these different space rocks, finding the quantities varied depending on their history. They also identified a correlation between the ratios of the building blocks and the concentration of another important chemical for life: ammonia. "Because no known formation mechanism predicts such a relationship, this finding may point to a previously unrecognized pathway for nucleobase formation in early solar system materials," Toshiki Koga said. Morgan Cable, a scientist at the Victoria University of Wellington in Australia not involved in the research, called this particular finding "unique." Ingredients of life discovered in Ryugu asteroid samples The "Ryugu Story" illustration depicting the detection of all five canonical nucleobases in samples returned from asteroid Ryugu by the Hayabusa2 mission. Credit: JAMSTEC "This discovery has important implications for how biologically important molecules may have originally formed and promoted the genesis of life on Earth," she said. Publication details Toshiki Koga et al, A complete set of canonical nucleobases in the carbonaceous asteroid (162173) Ryugu, Nature Astronomy (2026). DOI: 10.1038/s41550-026-02791-z Journal information: Nature Astronomy Key concepts meteoritesAsteroids (c) 2026 AFP Citation: Ryugu asteroid samples contain all DNA and RNA building blocks, bolstering origin-of-life theories (2026, March 16) retrieved 17 March 2026 from https://phys.org/news/ 2026-03-ryugu-asteroid-samples-dna-rna.html This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no part may be reproduced without the written permission. 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The study also found a unique correlation between nucleobase ratios and ammonia concentration, suggesting a previously unrecognized formation pathway in early solar system materials. This summary was automatically generated using LLM. Full disclaimer Let us know if there is a problem with our content Use this form if you have come across a typo, inaccuracy or would like to send an edit request for the content on this page. For general inquiries, please use our contact form. For general feedback, use the public comments section below (please adhere to guidelines). Please select the most appropriate category to facilitate processing of your request [-- please select one -- ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] Your message to the editors [ ] Your email (optional, only if you'd like a response) [ ] Send Feedback Thank you for taking time to provide your feedback to the editors. Your feedback is important to us. However, we do not guarantee individual replies due to the high volume of messages. 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