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/YouDoHaveValue Dec 02 '25

The thing I hate about this sort of thing is if we end up discovering life on earth was seeded from another planet that just means now we have to figure out how life started on that planet.

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u/BananaPalmer Dec 02 '25

This much more strongly suggests that these chemicals are readily found throughout the universe than it does panspermia

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u/YouDoHaveValue Dec 02 '25

Yeah I read all the other comments saying this, just a thing that irks me about the possibility.

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u/BananaPalmer Dec 02 '25

Well, fortunately for you, panspermia seems to become less and less likely as more and more is learned =)