Japan asteroid probe finds 23 amino acids, researchers confirm

Jun 10 (Nikkei) - A total of 23 types of amino acids were found in asteroid samples brought back by Japan's Hayabusa2 space probe, according to new studies published in the journal Science and elsewhere, shedding further light on the origins of life on Earth.

Two teams -- one including researchers at Japan's Hokkaido University and Tokyo Institute of Technology, and another including researchers at Okayama University -- published two studies dated Friday.

Researchers in Japan and abroad have been analyzing the samples since they were recovered in late 2020. After sending the samples back to Earth, Hayabusa2 has gone on a mission to another asteroid.

Amino acids are the building blocks of proteins, which are essential to life. Those collected from the asteroid Ryugu include glutamic acid, which is responsible for the taste of umami, and valine, which cannot be synthesized by the human body, the researchers found.

Whether amino acids originated on Earth or arrived from space has been a topic of much scientific debate. The findings from Hayabusa2 appear to support the latter hypothesis. ...continue reading

Source: 日テレNEWS

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