This Asteroid contains clues to origin of life on Earth! Know what scientists say

Finally, scientists have got clues to origin of life on Earth. Asteroid Ryugu may well contain the clues. Check details here.

Here is what scientists say on clues to the origin of life on earth. (Representative Image) (NASA)

How did life originate on Earth? Scientists are trying their best to figure out the answer to the same. And now their efforts have started showing the result as according to the latest information. A Japanese space probe has collected asteroid dust that contains organic material that shows some of the building blocks of life on Earth may have been formed in space. The pristine material is from asteroid Ryugu which was brought back to Earth in 2020 after a six-year mission to the celestial body around 300 million kilometres away, as per a report by AFP.

Studies are being conducted by the scientists on small portions of the 5.4 grams (0.2 ounces) of dust and tiny rocks. In one paper published Friday, a group of researchers led by Okayama University in western Japan said they had discovered "amino acids and other organic matter that could give clues to the origin of life on Earth".

"The discovery of protein-forming amino acids is important, because Ryugu has not been exposed to the Earth's biosphere, like meteorites, and as such their detection proves that at least some of the building blocks of life on Earth could have been formed in space environments," the study said.

23 different types of amino acid have been found by the team while examining the sample collected by Japan's Hayabusa-2 probe in 2019. "The Ryugu sample has the most primitive characteristics of any natural sample available to mankind, including meteorites," the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) said in a statement.

It is believed that part of the material was created about five million years after the birth of the solar system and has not been heated above 100 degrees Celsius (210 degrees Fahrenheit). Another study published in the US-based journal "Science" said the material has "a chemical composition that more closely resembles the Sun's photosphere than other natural samples".

Praising the discovery, Kensei Kobayashi, an astrobiology expert and professor emeritus at Yokohama National University, said to AFP, "Scientists have been questioning how organic matter -- including amino acids -- was created or where it came from, and the fact that amino acids were discovered in the sample offers a reason to think that amino acids were brought to Earth from outer space."