【Institute for Advanced Biosciences】 Numerous Biomolecules, Including Amino Acids, Discovered on Asteroid Bennu — All Five Nucleobases Essential for DNA and RNA Detected

2025.01.31

An international research group (the OSIRIS-REx sample analysis team), including Associate Professor Yasuhiro Oba of the Institute of Low Temperature Science at Hokkaido University, Senior Research Scientist Yoshinori Takano of the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC) (also Specially Appointed Associate Professor at the IAB, Keio University, and the Graduate School of Media and Governance), Postdoctoral Researcher Toshiki Koga, Associate Professor Yoshihiro Furukawa of the Graduate School of Science at Tohoku University, and Professor Hiroshi Naraoka of the Faculty of Science at Kyushu University, has successfully detected a variety of organic compounds—including amino acids, nucleobases, carboxylic acids, and amines—from particles returned from the carbonaceous B-type asteroid (101955) Bennu.

These samples were collected through NASA’s asteroid exploration mission “OSIRIS-REx.”

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Numerous Biomolecules, Including Amino Acids, Discovered on Asteroid Bennu — All Five Nucleobases Essential for DNA and RNA Detected