Overview
- Teams report ribose and glucose in pristine Bennu material, completing RNA’s key ingredients already found with nucleobases and phosphates.
- Deoxyribose was not detected, a pattern researchers say is consistent with scenarios where RNA preceded DNA in early chemistry.
- A previously unknown nitrogen‑ and oxygen‑rich, gum‑like polymer was identified, with a leading hypothesis of carbamate‑driven polymerization under early warming still under study.
- Bennu contains roughly six times more supernova‑derived presolar grains than any previously studied astromaterial, including pockets preserved despite extensive aqueous alteration.
- Researchers emphasize these compounds are not evidence of life and are pursuing isotopic and chiral measurements to further confirm extraterrestrial provenance and formation pathways.