Scientists have uncovered an extraordinary finding on Asteroid Bennu, a space rock that passes near Earth roughly every six years. NASA’s recent research has confirmed that Bennu contains tryptophan, ...

Life on Earth relies on molecular building blocks to make DNA and proteins. Scientists have long wondered how prevalent these precursors were at the birth of our solar system. A sample of dust and ...

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 molecules—the building blocks of ...

A sleep-inducing molecule humans use to make proteins was found, along with other amino acids, on an asteroid named Bennu.

The findings, which detail how amino acids shaped the genetic code of ancient microorganisms, shed light on the mystery of how life began on Earth. "You see the same amino acids in every organism, ...

Researchers demonstrated how amino acids could spontaneously attach to RNA under early Earth-like conditions using thioesters, providing a long-sought clue to the origins of protein synthesis. This ...

A critical nutrient used to produce the neurotransmitter serotonin may have turned up in samples collected from asteroid Bennu by NASA's OSIRIS-REx mission. Tryptophan is one of the nine essential ...

Amino acids are organic compounds that serve as the fundamental building blocks of proteins. They play a crucial role in the structure, function, and regulation of the body's tissues and organs. Amino ...

DNA is the poster child for high-specificity binding. As long as their base sequences match, two complementary strands of DNA can navigate through a sea of biomolecules, find each other, and hold fast ...