From Newsgroup: talk.origins


https://phys.org/news/2025-11-asteroid-amino-acids-clues-life.html

One of the most elegant theories about the origins
of life on our planet is that it was kick-started
by a delivery from outer space. This idea suggests
that prebiotic moleculesrCothe building blocks of
liferCowere transported here by asteroids or other
celestial bodies. While these molecules have been
found in meteorite samples that have crash-landed
on Earth, the findings have been complicated by
the possibility of contamination from our
environment.

But now these building blocks have been found on
an ancient asteroid untouched by Earth's environment.
That asteroid is called Bennu, a primitive object
that hasn't changed much since the birth of our
solar system around 4.6 billion years ago. It last
swung by our neighborhood in 2020, when a NASA
spacecraft landed on its surface, scooped up some
samples, and brought them back home.

In a new analysis of Bennu rock and dust, published
in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy
of Sciences, researchers confirmed the presence of
14 amino acids, previously found in analyses of
Bennu samples, and also tentatively detected traces
of tryptophan. This amino acid has never been
definitively found in extraterrestrial material.
The team also detected five nucleobases, the
components that make up RNA and DNA. This means
that both the building blocks of proteins (amino
acids) and the genetic blueprint (nucleobases) were
found in the same place.

But how did these prebiotic molecules get there?
The answer, according to the scientists, is liquid
water and chemical reactions. They reached their
conclusions after finding abundant phyllosilicates
(clay-like minerals) in the samples, which can only
form when rock is exposed to water. Liquid water
must have been present inside the asteroid's parent
body long ago. The team believes that the water
would have probably contained ammonia, which acted
as a catalyst, building amino acids and nucleotide
bases from simpler interstellar starting materials.

--- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: talk.origins

On 11/30/2025 10:36 PM, Pro Plyd wrote:

https://phys.org/news/2025-11-asteroid-amino-acids-clues-life.html

One of the most elegant theories about the origins
of life on our planet is that it was kick-started
by a delivery from outer space. This idea suggests
that prebiotic moleculesrCothe building blocks of
liferCowere transported here by asteroids or other
celestial bodies. While these molecules have been
found in meteorite samples that have crash-landed
on Earth, the findings have been complicated by
the possibility of contamination from our
environment.

But now these building blocks have been found on
an ancient asteroid untouched by Earth's environment.
That asteroid is called Bennu, a primitive object
that hasn't changed much since the birth of our
solar system around 4.6 billion years ago. It last
swung by our neighborhood in 2020, when a NASA
spacecraft landed on its surface, scooped up some
samples, and brought them back home.

In a new analysis of Bennu rock and dust, published
in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy
of Sciences, researchers confirmed the presence of
14 amino acids, previously found in analyses of
Bennu samples, and also tentatively detected traces
of tryptophan. This amino acid has never been
definitively found in extraterrestrial material.
The team also detected five nucleobases, the
components that make up RNA and DNA. This means
that both the building blocks of proteins (amino
acids) and the genetic blueprint (nucleobases) were
found in the same place.

But how did these prebiotic molecules get there?
The answer, according to the scientists, is liquid
water and chemical reactions. They reached their
conclusions after finding abundant phyllosilicates
(clay-like minerals) in the samples, which can only
form when rock is exposed to water. Liquid water
must have been present inside the asteroid's parent
body long ago. The team believes that the water
would have probably contained ammonia, which acted
as a catalyst, building amino acids and nucleotide
bases from simpler interstellar starting materials.

https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2512461122

The article may be open access. I was able to read it. The nucleobases
that they identified were uracil, Thymine, cytosine, adenine, guanine
and xanthine. This means that the bases may have been around along with
amino acids when the first molecular self replicators were being
created. It is a boost for the RNA world scenario. RNA polymers may
have been early developments for abiogenesis. They may not have been
the first self replicators, but whatever the early self replicators were
made of they may have had the starting materials to make RNA polymers.

They think that this asteroid once had liquid water and seemed to have a
lot of ammonia that in solution catalyzed the formation of bunch of
organic molecules. The asteroid supposedly formed when our solar system
was forming, so my guess is that the earth was being formed with a
similar chemical composition. How long would a comet or the original
asteroid have been warm enough to have liquid water during the formation
of our solar system?

Ron Okimoto

--- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: talk.origins

RonO wrote:

On 11/30/2025 10:36 PM, Pro Plyd wrote:

https://phys.org/news/2025-11-asteroid-amino-acids-clues-life.html

One of the most elegant theories about the origins
of life on our planet is that it was kick-started
by a delivery from outer space. This idea suggests
that prebiotic moleculesrCothe building blocks of
liferCowere transported here by asteroids or other
celestial bodies. While these molecules have been
found in meteorite samples that have crash-landed
on Earth, the findings have been complicated by
the possibility of contamination from our
environment.

But now these building blocks have been found on
an ancient asteroid untouched by Earth's environment.
That asteroid is called Bennu, a primitive object
that hasn't changed much since the birth of our
solar system around 4.6 billion years ago. It last
swung by our neighborhood in 2020, when a NASA
spacecraft landed on its surface, scooped up some
samples, and brought them back home.

In a new analysis of Bennu rock and dust, published
in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy
of Sciences, researchers confirmed the presence of
14 amino acids, previously found in analyses of
Bennu samples, and also tentatively detected traces
of tryptophan. This amino acid has never been
definitively found in extraterrestrial material.
The team also detected five nucleobases, the
components that make up RNA and DNA. This means
that both the building blocks of proteins (amino
acids) and the genetic blueprint (nucleobases) were
found in the same place.

But how did these prebiotic molecules get there?
The answer, according to the scientists, is liquid
water and chemical reactions. They reached their
conclusions after finding abundant phyllosilicates
(clay-like minerals) in the samples, which can only

Read this part:

form when rock is exposed to water. Liquid water
must have been present inside the asteroid's parent
body long ago. The team believes that the water

would have probably contained ammonia, which acted
as a catalyst, building amino acids and nucleotide
bases from simpler interstellar starting materials.

https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2512461122

The article may be open access.-a I was able to read it.-a The nucleobases that they identified were uracil, Thymine, cytosine, adenine, guanine
and xanthine.-a This means that the bases may have been around along with amino acids when the first molecular self replicators were being
created.-a It is a boost for the RNA world scenario.-a RNA polymers may
have been early developments for abiogenesis.-a They may not have been
the first self replicators, but whatever the early self replicators were made of they may have had the starting materials to make RNA polymers.

They think that this asteroid once had liquid water and seemed to have a
lot of ammonia that in solution catalyzed the formation of bunch of
organic molecules.-a The asteroid supposedly formed when our solar system was forming, so my guess is that the earth was being formed with a
similar chemical composition.-a How long would a comet or the original asteroid have been warm enough to have liquid water during the formation
of our solar system?

Not in the asteroid. See the clip I isolated above.

CT

Ron Okimoto

--- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: talk.origins

On 12/2/2025 9:23 PM, Chris Thompson wrote:

RonO wrote:

On 11/30/2025 10:36 PM, Pro Plyd wrote:

https://phys.org/news/2025-11-asteroid-amino-acids-clues-life.html

One of the most elegant theories about the origins
of life on our planet is that it was kick-started
by a delivery from outer space. This idea suggests
that prebiotic moleculesrCothe building blocks of
liferCowere transported here by asteroids or other
celestial bodies. While these molecules have been
found in meteorite samples that have crash-landed
on Earth, the findings have been complicated by
the possibility of contamination from our
environment.

But now these building blocks have been found on
an ancient asteroid untouched by Earth's environment.
That asteroid is called Bennu, a primitive object
that hasn't changed much since the birth of our
solar system around 4.6 billion years ago. It last
swung by our neighborhood in 2020, when a NASA
spacecraft landed on its surface, scooped up some
samples, and brought them back home.

In a new analysis of Bennu rock and dust, published
in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy
of Sciences, researchers confirmed the presence of
14 amino acids, previously found in analyses of
Bennu samples, and also tentatively detected traces
of tryptophan. This amino acid has never been
definitively found in extraterrestrial material.
The team also detected five nucleobases, the
components that make up RNA and DNA. This means
that both the building blocks of proteins (amino
acids) and the genetic blueprint (nucleobases) were
found in the same place.

But how did these prebiotic molecules get there?
The answer, according to the scientists, is liquid
water and chemical reactions. They reached their
conclusions after finding abundant phyllosilicates
(clay-like minerals) in the samples, which can only

Read this part:

form when rock is exposed to water. Liquid water
must have been present inside the asteroid's parent
body long ago. The team believes that the water

would have probably contained ammonia, which acted
as a catalyst, building amino acids and nucleotide
bases from simpler interstellar starting materials.

https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2512461122

The article may be open access.-a I was able to read it.-a The
nucleobases that they identified were uracil, Thymine, cytosine,
adenine, guanine and xanthine.-a This means that the bases may have
been around along with amino acids when the first molecular self
replicators were being created.-a It is a boost for the RNA world
scenario.-a RNA polymers may have been early developments for
abiogenesis.-a They may not have been the first self replicators, but
whatever the early self replicators were made of they may have had the
starting materials to make RNA polymers.

They think that this asteroid once had liquid water and seemed to have
a lot of ammonia that in solution catalyzed the formation of bunch of
organic molecules.-a The asteroid supposedly formed when our solar
system was forming, so my guess is that the earth was being formed
with a similar chemical composition.-a How long would a comet or the
original asteroid have been warm enough to have liquid water during
the formation of our solar system?

Not in the asteroid. See the clip I isolated above.

CT

Your clip claims that water was present inside of the asteroid. The
paper claims that the water did not exist in the samples, but had once existed. When these objects get too close to the sun they lose their
volatile molecules like water and ammonia.

Ron Okimoto

Ron Okimoto

--- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: talk.origins

RonO wrote:

On 12/2/2025 9:23 PM, Chris Thompson wrote:

RonO wrote:

On 11/30/2025 10:36 PM, Pro Plyd wrote:

https://phys.org/news/2025-11-asteroid-amino-acids-clues-life.html

One of the most elegant theories about the origins
of life on our planet is that it was kick-started
by a delivery from outer space. This idea suggests
that prebiotic moleculesrCothe building blocks of
liferCowere transported here by asteroids or other
celestial bodies. While these molecules have been
found in meteorite samples that have crash-landed
on Earth, the findings have been complicated by
the possibility of contamination from our
environment.

But now these building blocks have been found on
an ancient asteroid untouched by Earth's environment.
That asteroid is called Bennu, a primitive object
that hasn't changed much since the birth of our
solar system around 4.6 billion years ago. It last
swung by our neighborhood in 2020, when a NASA
spacecraft landed on its surface, scooped up some
samples, and brought them back home.

In a new analysis of Bennu rock and dust, published
in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy
of Sciences, researchers confirmed the presence of
14 amino acids, previously found in analyses of
Bennu samples, and also tentatively detected traces
of tryptophan. This amino acid has never been
definitively found in extraterrestrial material.
The team also detected five nucleobases, the
components that make up RNA and DNA. This means
that both the building blocks of proteins (amino
acids) and the genetic blueprint (nucleobases) were
found in the same place.

But how did these prebiotic molecules get there?
The answer, according to the scientists, is liquid
water and chemical reactions. They reached their
conclusions after finding abundant phyllosilicates
(clay-like minerals) in the samples, which can only

Read this part:

form when rock is exposed to water. Liquid water
must have been present inside the asteroid's parent
body long ago. The team believes that the water

would have probably contained ammonia, which acted
as a catalyst, building amino acids and nucleotide
bases from simpler interstellar starting materials.

https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2512461122

The article may be open access.-a I was able to read it.-a The
nucleobases that they identified were uracil, Thymine, cytosine,
adenine, guanine and xanthine.-a This means that the bases may have
been around along with amino acids when the first molecular self
replicators were being created.-a It is a boost for the RNA world
scenario.-a RNA polymers may have been early developments for
abiogenesis.-a They may not have been the first self replicators, but
whatever the early self replicators were made of they may have had
the starting materials to make RNA polymers.

They think that this asteroid once had liquid water and seemed to
have a lot of ammonia that in solution catalyzed the formation of
bunch of organic molecules.-a The asteroid supposedly formed when our
solar system was forming, so my guess is that the earth was being
formed with a similar chemical composition.-a How long would a comet
or the original asteroid have been warm enough to have liquid water
during the formation of our solar system?

Not in the asteroid. See the clip I isolated above.

CT

Your clip claims that water was present inside of the asteroid.-a The

Wow. Just...wow.

Chris

paper claims that the water did not exist in the samples, but had once existed.-a When these objects get too close to the sun they lose their volatile molecules like water and ammonia.

Ron Okimoto

Ron Okimoto

--- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: talk.origins

On Wed, 3 Dec 2025 08:36:41 -0600, RonO <rokimoto557@gmail.com> wrote:

On 12/2/2025 9:23 PM, Chris Thompson wrote:

RonO wrote:

On 11/30/2025 10:36 PM, Pro Plyd wrote:

https://phys.org/news/2025-11-asteroid-amino-acids-clues-life.html

One of the most elegant theories about the origins
of life on our planet is that it was kick-started
by a delivery from outer space. This idea suggests
that prebiotic moleculesrCothe building blocks of
liferCowere transported here by asteroids or other
celestial bodies. While these molecules have been
found in meteorite samples that have crash-landed
on Earth, the findings have been complicated by
the possibility of contamination from our
environment.

But now these building blocks have been found on
an ancient asteroid untouched by Earth's environment.
That asteroid is called Bennu, a primitive object
that hasn't changed much since the birth of our
solar system around 4.6 billion years ago. It last
swung by our neighborhood in 2020, when a NASA
spacecraft landed on its surface, scooped up some
samples, and brought them back home.

In a new analysis of Bennu rock and dust, published
in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy
of Sciences, researchers confirmed the presence of
14 amino acids, previously found in analyses of
Bennu samples, and also tentatively detected traces
of tryptophan. This amino acid has never been
definitively found in extraterrestrial material.
The team also detected five nucleobases, the
components that make up RNA and DNA. This means
that both the building blocks of proteins (amino
acids) and the genetic blueprint (nucleobases) were
found in the same place.

But how did these prebiotic molecules get there?
The answer, according to the scientists, is liquid
water and chemical reactions. They reached their
conclusions after finding abundant phyllosilicates
(clay-like minerals) in the samples, which can only

Read this part:

form when rock is exposed to water. Liquid water
must have been present inside the asteroid's parent
body long ago. The team believes that the water

would have probably contained ammonia, which acted
as a catalyst, building amino acids and nucleotide
bases from simpler interstellar starting materials.

https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2512461122

The article may be open access.-a I was able to read it.-a The
nucleobases that they identified were uracil, Thymine, cytosine,
adenine, guanine and xanthine.-a This means that the bases may have
been around along with amino acids when the first molecular self
replicators were being created.-a It is a boost for the RNA world
scenario.-a RNA polymers may have been early developments for
abiogenesis.-a They may not have been the first self replicators, but
whatever the early self replicators were made of they may have had the
starting materials to make RNA polymers.

They think that this asteroid once had liquid water and seemed to have
a lot of ammonia that in solution catalyzed the formation of bunch of
organic molecules.-a The asteroid supposedly formed when our solar
system was forming, so my guess is that the earth was being formed
with a similar chemical composition.-a How long would a comet or the
original asteroid have been warm enough to have liquid water during
the formation of our solar system?

Not in the asteroid. See the clip I isolated above.

CT

Your clip claims that water was present inside of the asteroid.

Umm.... no. His clip says the asteroid's material was *formed* in the
presence of water, not that water itself is present in the asteroid.
It's a subtle distinction I admit, but an important one in this case.

The
paper claims that the water did not exist in the samples, but had once >existed. When these objects get too close to the sun they lose their >volatile molecules like water and ammonia.

Ron Okimoto

Ron Okimoto

--
To know less than we don't know is the nature of most knowledge
--- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: talk.origins

On 12/3/2025 9:04 PM, Chris Thompson wrote:

RonO wrote:

On 12/2/2025 9:23 PM, Chris Thompson wrote:

RonO wrote:

On 11/30/2025 10:36 PM, Pro Plyd wrote:

https://phys.org/news/2025-11-asteroid-amino-acids-clues-life.html

One of the most elegant theories about the origins
of life on our planet is that it was kick-started
by a delivery from outer space. This idea suggests
that prebiotic moleculesrCothe building blocks of
liferCowere transported here by asteroids or other
celestial bodies. While these molecules have been
found in meteorite samples that have crash-landed
on Earth, the findings have been complicated by
the possibility of contamination from our
environment.

But now these building blocks have been found on
an ancient asteroid untouched by Earth's environment.
That asteroid is called Bennu, a primitive object
that hasn't changed much since the birth of our
solar system around 4.6 billion years ago. It last
swung by our neighborhood in 2020, when a NASA
spacecraft landed on its surface, scooped up some
samples, and brought them back home.

In a new analysis of Bennu rock and dust, published
in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy
of Sciences, researchers confirmed the presence of
14 amino acids, previously found in analyses of
Bennu samples, and also tentatively detected traces
of tryptophan. This amino acid has never been
definitively found in extraterrestrial material.
The team also detected five nucleobases, the
components that make up RNA and DNA. This means
that both the building blocks of proteins (amino
acids) and the genetic blueprint (nucleobases) were
found in the same place.

But how did these prebiotic molecules get there?
The answer, according to the scientists, is liquid
water and chemical reactions. They reached their
conclusions after finding abundant phyllosilicates
(clay-like minerals) in the samples, which can only

Read this part:

form when rock is exposed to water. Liquid water
must have been present inside the asteroid's parent
body long ago. The team believes that the water

would have probably contained ammonia, which acted
as a catalyst, building amino acids and nucleotide
bases from simpler interstellar starting materials.

https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2512461122

The article may be open access.-a I was able to read it.-a The
nucleobases that they identified were uracil, Thymine, cytosine,
adenine, guanine and xanthine.-a This means that the bases may have
been around along with amino acids when the first molecular self
replicators were being created.-a It is a boost for the RNA world
scenario.-a RNA polymers may have been early developments for
abiogenesis.-a They may not have been the first self replicators, but >>>> whatever the early self replicators were made of they may have had
the starting materials to make RNA polymers.

They think that this asteroid once had liquid water and seemed to
have a lot of ammonia that in solution catalyzed the formation of
bunch of organic molecules.-a The asteroid supposedly formed when our >>>> solar system was forming, so my guess is that the earth was being
formed with a similar chemical composition.-a How long would a comet
or the original asteroid have been warm enough to have liquid water
during the formation of our solar system?

Not in the asteroid. See the clip I isolated above.

CT

Your clip claims that water was present inside of the asteroid.-a The

Wow. Just...wow.

What point are you trying to make? How long would liquid water have
existed? It would freeze when the asteroid cooled after it's initial formation, and then sublimate. The samples that had the amino acids and nucleobases did not have water associated with them. The claim was that
these molecules were formed in solution with ammonia.

Ron Okimoto

Chris

paper claims that the water did not exist in the samples, but had once
existed.-a When these objects get too close to the sun they lose their
volatile molecules like water and ammonia.

Ron Okimoto

Ron Okimoto

--- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: talk.origins

On 12/4/2025 2:52 AM, jillery wrote:

On Wed, 3 Dec 2025 08:36:41 -0600, RonO <rokimoto557@gmail.com> wrote:

On 12/2/2025 9:23 PM, Chris Thompson wrote:

RonO wrote:

On 11/30/2025 10:36 PM, Pro Plyd wrote:

https://phys.org/news/2025-11-asteroid-amino-acids-clues-life.html

One of the most elegant theories about the origins
of life on our planet is that it was kick-started
by a delivery from outer space. This idea suggests
that prebiotic moleculesrCothe building blocks of
liferCowere transported here by asteroids or other
celestial bodies. While these molecules have been
found in meteorite samples that have crash-landed
on Earth, the findings have been complicated by
the possibility of contamination from our
environment.

But now these building blocks have been found on
an ancient asteroid untouched by Earth's environment.
That asteroid is called Bennu, a primitive object
that hasn't changed much since the birth of our
solar system around 4.6 billion years ago. It last
swung by our neighborhood in 2020, when a NASA
spacecraft landed on its surface, scooped up some
samples, and brought them back home.

In a new analysis of Bennu rock and dust, published
in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy
of Sciences, researchers confirmed the presence of
14 amino acids, previously found in analyses of
Bennu samples, and also tentatively detected traces
of tryptophan. This amino acid has never been
definitively found in extraterrestrial material.
The team also detected five nucleobases, the
components that make up RNA and DNA. This means
that both the building blocks of proteins (amino
acids) and the genetic blueprint (nucleobases) were
found in the same place.

But how did these prebiotic molecules get there?
The answer, according to the scientists, is liquid
water and chemical reactions. They reached their
conclusions after finding abundant phyllosilicates
(clay-like minerals) in the samples, which can only

Read this part:

form when rock is exposed to water. Liquid water
must have been present inside the asteroid's parent
body long ago. The team believes that the water

would have probably contained ammonia, which acted
as a catalyst, building amino acids and nucleotide
bases from simpler interstellar starting materials.

https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2512461122

The article may be open access.-a I was able to read it.-a The
nucleobases that they identified were uracil, Thymine, cytosine,
adenine, guanine and xanthine.-a This means that the bases may have
been around along with amino acids when the first molecular self
replicators were being created.-a It is a boost for the RNA world
scenario.-a RNA polymers may have been early developments for
abiogenesis.-a They may not have been the first self replicators, but
whatever the early self replicators were made of they may have had the >>>> starting materials to make RNA polymers.

They think that this asteroid once had liquid water and seemed to have >>>> a lot of ammonia that in solution catalyzed the formation of bunch of
organic molecules.-a The asteroid supposedly formed when our solar
system was forming, so my guess is that the earth was being formed
with a similar chemical composition.-a How long would a comet or the
original asteroid have been warm enough to have liquid water during
the formation of our solar system?

Not in the asteroid. See the clip I isolated above.

CT

Your clip claims that water was present inside of the asteroid.

Umm.... no. His clip says the asteroid's material was *formed* in the presence of water, not that water itself is present in the asteroid.
It's a subtle distinction I admit, but an important one in this case.

Still is not relevant to how long liquid water was present. It was
there at one time, but for how long? Just look what I wrote. His clip claimed that liquid water was inside the parent body of the asteroid
when it formed, but did nothing to address the issue, but did nothing to
say about how long that liquid water would exist. It would freeze long
before it sublimated.

QUOTE:
Liquid water must have been present inside the asteroid's parent body
long ago.
END QUOTE:

The
paper claims that the water did not exist in the samples, but had once
existed. When these objects get too close to the sun they lose their
volatile molecules like water and ammonia.

Ron Okimoto

Ron Okimoto

--- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: talk.origins

On 12/4/2025 2:52 AM, jillery wrote:

On Wed, 3 Dec 2025 08:36:41 -0600, RonO <rokimoto557@gmail.com> wrote:

On 12/2/2025 9:23 PM, Chris Thompson wrote:

RonO wrote:

On 11/30/2025 10:36 PM, Pro Plyd wrote:

https://phys.org/news/2025-11-asteroid-amino-acids-clues-life.html

One of the most elegant theories about the origins
of life on our planet is that it was kick-started
by a delivery from outer space. This idea suggests
that prebiotic moleculesrCothe building blocks of
liferCowere transported here by asteroids or other
celestial bodies. While these molecules have been
found in meteorite samples that have crash-landed
on Earth, the findings have been complicated by
the possibility of contamination from our
environment.

But now these building blocks have been found on
an ancient asteroid untouched by Earth's environment.
That asteroid is called Bennu, a primitive object
that hasn't changed much since the birth of our
solar system around 4.6 billion years ago. It last
swung by our neighborhood in 2020, when a NASA
spacecraft landed on its surface, scooped up some
samples, and brought them back home.

In a new analysis of Bennu rock and dust, published
in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy
of Sciences, researchers confirmed the presence of
14 amino acids, previously found in analyses of
Bennu samples, and also tentatively detected traces
of tryptophan. This amino acid has never been
definitively found in extraterrestrial material.
The team also detected five nucleobases, the
components that make up RNA and DNA. This means
that both the building blocks of proteins (amino
acids) and the genetic blueprint (nucleobases) were
found in the same place.

But how did these prebiotic molecules get there?
The answer, according to the scientists, is liquid
water and chemical reactions. They reached their
conclusions after finding abundant phyllosilicates
(clay-like minerals) in the samples, which can only

Read this part:

form when rock is exposed to water. Liquid water
must have been present inside the asteroid's parent
body long ago. The team believes that the water

would have probably contained ammonia, which acted
as a catalyst, building amino acids and nucleotide
bases from simpler interstellar starting materials.

https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2512461122

The article may be open access.-a I was able to read it.-a The
nucleobases that they identified were uracil, Thymine, cytosine,
adenine, guanine and xanthine.-a This means that the bases may have
been around along with amino acids when the first molecular self
replicators were being created.-a It is a boost for the RNA world
scenario.-a RNA polymers may have been early developments for
abiogenesis.-a They may not have been the first self replicators, but
whatever the early self replicators were made of they may have had the >>>> starting materials to make RNA polymers.

They think that this asteroid once had liquid water and seemed to have >>>> a lot of ammonia that in solution catalyzed the formation of bunch of
organic molecules.-a The asteroid supposedly formed when our solar
system was forming, so my guess is that the earth was being formed
with a similar chemical composition.-a How long would a comet or the
original asteroid have been warm enough to have liquid water during
the formation of our solar system?

Not in the asteroid. See the clip I isolated above.

CT

Your clip claims that water was present inside of the asteroid.

Umm.... no. His clip says the asteroid's material was *formed* in the presence of water, not that water itself is present in the asteroid.
It's a subtle distinction I admit, but an important one in this case.

The
paper claims that the water did not exist in the samples, but had once
existed. When these objects get too close to the sun they lose their
volatile molecules like water and ammonia.

Ron Okimoto

Ron Okimoto

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/101955_Bennu

Wiki claims that Bennu remains a water rich asteroid. It is a candidate
for water mining in space. The average temperature is below freezing.
The rotation of the asteroid is less than 6 hours, but parts exposed to
the sun can reach temperatures above freezing. It is claimed that
plumes still erupt from the asteroid indicating that water and other
volitiles may be outgassing. Not all of the water may be in minerals,
but the claim is that there may still be pockets of water inside the
asteroid. It sounds like some liquid water may be generated in parts of
it's orbit. It comes within the orbit of earth at times, but part of
the orbit is out around mars' orbit. My guess is that close enough
proximity to the sun and liquid water may be generated inside pockets of
the asteroid close to the surface even today. Life may have even
originated under such conditions. This asteroid has existed since the beginnings of our solar system, and it still has enough water that it
could be a water source for space habitats, and it is still losing that
water to space, likely due to the temperature changes during its orbit.

Ron Okimoto

--- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: talk.origins

On Thu, 4 Dec 2025 08:53:56 -0600, RonO <rokimoto557@gmail.com> wrote:

On 12/4/2025 2:52 AM, jillery wrote:

On Wed, 3 Dec 2025 08:36:41 -0600, RonO <rokimoto557@gmail.com> wrote:

On 12/2/2025 9:23 PM, Chris Thompson wrote:

RonO wrote:

On 11/30/2025 10:36 PM, Pro Plyd wrote:

https://phys.org/news/2025-11-asteroid-amino-acids-clues-life.html >>>>>>
One of the most elegant theories about the origins
of life on our planet is that it was kick-started
by a delivery from outer space. This idea suggests
that prebiotic moleculesrCothe building blocks of
liferCowere transported here by asteroids or other
celestial bodies. While these molecules have been
found in meteorite samples that have crash-landed
on Earth, the findings have been complicated by
the possibility of contamination from our
environment.

But now these building blocks have been found on
an ancient asteroid untouched by Earth's environment.
That asteroid is called Bennu, a primitive object
that hasn't changed much since the birth of our
solar system around 4.6 billion years ago. It last
swung by our neighborhood in 2020, when a NASA
spacecraft landed on its surface, scooped up some
samples, and brought them back home.

In a new analysis of Bennu rock and dust, published
in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy
of Sciences, researchers confirmed the presence of
14 amino acids, previously found in analyses of
Bennu samples, and also tentatively detected traces
of tryptophan. This amino acid has never been
definitively found in extraterrestrial material.
The team also detected five nucleobases, the
components that make up RNA and DNA. This means
that both the building blocks of proteins (amino
acids) and the genetic blueprint (nucleobases) were
found in the same place.

But how did these prebiotic molecules get there?
The answer, according to the scientists, is liquid
water and chemical reactions. They reached their
conclusions after finding abundant phyllosilicates
(clay-like minerals) in the samples, which can only

Read this part:

form when rock is exposed to water. Liquid water
must have been present inside the asteroid's parent
body long ago. The team believes that the water

would have probably contained ammonia, which acted
as a catalyst, building amino acids and nucleotide
bases from simpler interstellar starting materials.

https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2512461122

The article may be open access.-a I was able to read it.-a The
nucleobases that they identified were uracil, Thymine, cytosine,
adenine, guanine and xanthine.-a This means that the bases may have
been around along with amino acids when the first molecular self
replicators were being created.-a It is a boost for the RNA world
scenario.-a RNA polymers may have been early developments for
abiogenesis.-a They may not have been the first self replicators, but >>>>> whatever the early self replicators were made of they may have had the >>>>> starting materials to make RNA polymers.

They think that this asteroid once had liquid water and seemed to have >>>>> a lot of ammonia that in solution catalyzed the formation of bunch of >>>>> organic molecules.-a The asteroid supposedly formed when our solar
system was forming, so my guess is that the earth was being formed
with a similar chemical composition.-a How long would a comet or the >>>>> original asteroid have been warm enough to have liquid water during
the formation of our solar system?

Not in the asteroid. See the clip I isolated above.

CT

Your clip claims that water was present inside of the asteroid.

Umm.... no. His clip says the asteroid's material was *formed* in the
presence of water, not that water itself is present in the asteroid.
It's a subtle distinction I admit, but an important one in this case.

Still is not relevant to how long liquid water was present.

It's very relevant. More to the point, it's also very relevant to
your objection expressed above.

It was
there at one time, but for how long? Just look what I wrote. His clip >claimed that liquid water was inside the parent body of the asteroid
when it formed,

The clip's claim is factually correct.

but did nothing to address the issue, but did nothing to
say about how long that liquid water would exist. It would freeze long >before it sublimated.

That's not the issue of the article. It surmises Bennu split from a
parent body. It's the parent body the article claims had liquid
water. That's what you misunderstand here.

QUOTE:
Liquid water must have been present inside the asteroid's parent body
long ago.
END QUOTE:

The
paper claims that the water did not exist in the samples, but had once
existed. When these objects get too close to the sun they lose their
volatile molecules like water and ammonia.

Ron Okimoto

Ron Okimoto

--
To know less than we don't know is the nature of most knowledge
--- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: talk.origins

On 04/12/2025 14:45, RonO wrote:

On 12/3/2025 9:04 PM, Chris Thompson wrote:

RonO wrote:

On 12/2/2025 9:23 PM, Chris Thompson wrote:

RonO wrote:

On 11/30/2025 10:36 PM, Pro Plyd wrote:

https://phys.org/news/2025-11-asteroid-amino-acids-clues-life.html >>>>>>
One of the most elegant theories about the origins
of life on our planet is that it was kick-started
by a delivery from outer space. This idea suggests
that prebiotic moleculesrCothe building blocks of
liferCowere transported here by asteroids or other
celestial bodies. While these molecules have been
found in meteorite samples that have crash-landed
on Earth, the findings have been complicated by
the possibility of contamination from our
environment.

But now these building blocks have been found on
an ancient asteroid untouched by Earth's environment.
That asteroid is called Bennu, a primitive object
that hasn't changed much since the birth of our
solar system around 4.6 billion years ago. It last
swung by our neighborhood in 2020, when a NASA
spacecraft landed on its surface, scooped up some
samples, and brought them back home.

In a new analysis of Bennu rock and dust, published
in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy
of Sciences, researchers confirmed the presence of
14 amino acids, previously found in analyses of
Bennu samples, and also tentatively detected traces
of tryptophan. This amino acid has never been
definitively found in extraterrestrial material.
The team also detected five nucleobases, the
components that make up RNA and DNA. This means
that both the building blocks of proteins (amino
acids) and the genetic blueprint (nucleobases) were
found in the same place.

But how did these prebiotic molecules get there?
The answer, according to the scientists, is liquid
water and chemical reactions. They reached their
conclusions after finding abundant phyllosilicates
(clay-like minerals) in the samples, which can only

Read this part:

form when rock is exposed to water. Liquid water
must have been present inside the asteroid's parent
body long ago. The team believes that the water

would have probably contained ammonia, which acted
as a catalyst, building amino acids and nucleotide
bases from simpler interstellar starting materials.

https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2512461122

The article may be open access.-a I was able to read it.-a The
nucleobases that they identified were uracil, Thymine, cytosine,
adenine, guanine and xanthine.-a This means that the bases may have >>>>> been around along with amino acids when the first molecular self
replicators were being created.-a It is a boost for the RNA world
scenario.-a RNA polymers may have been early developments for
abiogenesis.-a They may not have been the first self replicators,
but whatever the early self replicators were made of they may have
had the starting materials to make RNA polymers.

They think that this asteroid once had liquid water and seemed to
have a lot of ammonia that in solution catalyzed the formation of
bunch of organic molecules.-a The asteroid supposedly formed when
our solar system was forming, so my guess is that the earth was
being formed with a similar chemical composition.-a How long would a >>>>> comet or the original asteroid have been warm enough to have liquid >>>>> water during the formation of our solar system?

Not in the asteroid. See the clip I isolated above.

CT

Your clip claims that water was present inside of the asteroid.-a The

Wow. Just...wow.

What point are you trying to make?-a How long would liquid water have existed?-a It would freeze when the asteroid cooled after it's initial formation, and then sublimate.-a The samples that had the amino acids and nucleobases did not have water associated with them.-a The claim was that these molecules were formed in solution with ammonia.

Ron Okimoto

I think that he is pointing out that the source refers to the *parent
body* of the asteroid, not the asteroid Bennu as currently exists. A
number of planetisimals from the region between Mars and Jupiter were subsequently broken up by collisions - hence the existence of asteroid families. (Asteroid groupings are also sculpted by resonances with
Jupiter's orbit.)

The relevant planetisimals formed beyond the ice line - in regions of
space where water exists in the form of ice - but were sufficiently
massive to retain heat formed from radioactive decay (the early solar
system had quantities of Al-26 left over from the supernova that likely triggered the formation of the sun) and develop liquid water in their interiors.

Chris

paper claims that the water did not exist in the samples, but had
once existed.-a When these objects get too close to the sun they lose
their volatile molecules like water and ammonia.

Ron Okimoto

Ron Okimoto

--
alias Ernest Major

--- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2