Astronomers Look Inside Meteorites and Find the Sugars Needed for Life

The discovery shows that the organic compounds needed for life can form in lifeless environments, like on asteroids and the early Earth.

By Erika K. Carlson
Nov 22, 2019 7:00 PMNov 25, 2019 9:35 PM
Meteorites Early Earth - NASA
(Credit: NASA’s GSFC Conceptual Image Lab)

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Scientists keep finding important molecules for life in meteorites. Now, they can add another one to the list: ribose. It's a type of sugar that plays a vital role in the genetic code of life. 

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