Scientists poring over a sample brought back from the asteroid Bennu have detected amino acids and complex mineral compounds, some of which have never been found in space rocks. A team at the ...

These and other discoveries have left scientists wondering if any off-world amino acids might have once helped life evolve ...

A big question in the origin of life on Earth is why it is based solely on "left-handed" amino acids. Studies on asteroid Bennu's chemical building blocks deepens the mystery. Credit: Christoph ...

Scientists have long believed they understood how life’s genetic code evolved, but new research upends that assumption. By ...

"The suite of simple protein amino acids and nucleobases that were found in Bennu are a long way from anything that could be ...

Rock and dust samples brought back to Earth from the asteroid Bennu contain organic matter and a variety of minerals crucial to the emergence of life ...

This means important chemical reactions for life could have ... "While the detection of amino acids in the Bennu samples is an important discovery," he told Mashable, "we have not yet detected ...