A mosaic image of asteroid Bennu, composed of 12 PolyCam images collected by the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft from a range of 24 kilometers. (Credit: NASA/Goddard/University of Arizona)NewsletterSign up for our email newsletter for the latest science newsAn asteroid carrying some of the basic building blocks of life has been reported in the journal Nature Astronomy. This finding opens the possibility that life on Earth could have been seeded by chemicals in the cosmos billions of years ago.Asteroids provide a time capsule into our home planets history, and Bennus samples are pivotal in our understanding of what ingredients in our solar system existed before life started on Earth, Nicky Fox, a NASA official, said in a news release. NASAs OSIRIS-REx mission already is rewriting the textbook on what we understand about the beginnings of our solar system.Searching for Signs of Life on an AsteroidAlthough meteorites, from which asteroids break off from, have been theorized as potential vehicles for life-seeding chemical passengers, analyzing them for its signs has been tricky. Because meteorites pass through the atmosphere, they could pick up moisture, which could then contaminate any sample.To circumvent that issue, NASAs OSIRIS-REx mission brought 121.6 grams of sample from asteroid Bennu in September 2023. An international team of scientists analyzed the largest asteroid sample ever returned to Earth and reported that it held organic matter containing ammonia and nitrogen. Those chemicals are key to building both DNA and RNA, the compounds that give rise to all living things on Earth. The sample also contained evidence of a salty, briny broth where the chemicals could interact and combine.While the findings do not show, in and of themselves, life on other planets or elsewhere in the universe, it does show that the chemical components were kicking around in space well before life took hold on earth.Seeds for Life in Space?To avoid contamination, the Bennu samples from NASA were handled under nitrogen. Scientists at Kyushu University in Japan analyzed them with high resolution mass spectrometry a technique used to identify molecules based on their weight and charge. They were especially interested in finding ring-shaped molecules that hold carbon and nitrogen.In doing so, they struck organic chemistry gold: the sample contained all five nitrogenous bases adenine, guanine, cytosine, thymine, and uracil required for building DNA and RNA. They also found xanthine, hypoxanthine, and nicotinic acid (vitamin B3).In an earlier study of a different asteroid named Ryugu, scientists only detected uracil and nicotinic acid. The other four nucleobases were missing. This could be because the two asteroids picked up different chemical hitchhikers, based on their path and location. The difference in abundance and complexity of N-heterocycles between Bennu and Ryugu could reflect the differences in the environment to which these asteroids have been exposed in space, Toshiki Koga, a researcher with the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology, said in a press release.Article SourcesOur writers at Discovermagazine.com use peer-reviewed studies and high-quality sources for our articles, and our editors review for scientific accuracy and editorial standards. Review the sources used below for this article:NASA. OSIRIS-RExBefore joining Discover Magazine, Paul Smaglik spent over 20 years as a science journalist, specializing in U.S. life science policy and global scientific career issues. He began his career in newspapers, but switched to scientific magazines. His work has appeared in publications including Science News, Science, Nature, and Scientific American.1 free article leftWant More? Get unlimited access for as low as $1.99/monthSubscribeAlready a subscriber?Register or Log In1 free articleSubscribeWant more?Keep reading for as low as $1.99!SubscribeAlready a subscriber?Register or Log In

Nature, Published online: 29 January 2025; doi:10.1038/d41586-025-00267-0Bennu gives researchers clues about how the chemicals that make up life arose, how a maize monoculture may have supported a mysterious civilization and why the new AI model DeepSeek R1 has sent shockwaves around the world.

Nature, Published online: 29 January 2025; doi:10.1038/s41586-024-08491-wZhaonella formicivorans produces methanol, for a novel syntrophic interaction, without requiring methylated compounds as an input.

Gravitational waves offer a 'cosmic DNA test' for black holes

"Our measurements imply that the supermassive black hole mass is 10% of the stellar mass in the galaxies we studied."

Chiro FujitaChiro Fujita, the artist behind the cool stylized anthropomorphic fox 3D artwork we featured recently, has unveiled the Arcus-2200 sci-fi radio, designed as part of his exploration into the popular CAD for artists software Plasticity.Created in Kawasaki, Japan, by the fictional company Kasayama Industry Ltd., this is a 3D concept model made for personal study and is not intended as a game-ready asset. Heres what its topology looks like:The Arcus-2200 was crafted and rendered using Blender 4.1, with Chiro utilizing the Blender add-ons Poly Haven Asset Browser and Colorist Pro. The included textures and lighting settings are also intended solely for personal study and cannot be used for commercial purposes.Have a closer look at the prop below:Chiro FujitaChiro FujitaChiro FujitaChiro FujitaPurchase the project file here and visitChiro FujitasArtStation page for more 3D art. Dont forget to join our80 Level Talent platformand ournew Discord server, follow us onInstagram,Twitter,LinkedIn,Telegram,TikTok, andThreads, where we share breakdowns, the latest news, awesome artworks, and more.Source link The post Futuristic Sci-Fi Radio Device Imagined With Plasticity & Substance 3D appeared first on CG SHARES.

Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 will be getting multiple substantial updates through the first half of 2025 and beyond. The year's first big patch will release in February, adding a new map, a new Tyranid enemy, and Absolute difficulty.Focus Entertainment revealed its roadmap for the game via a community update on its official forum. The post opens by addressing community complaints about a lack of updates, it then clarifies that updates can be expected every two months. The post adds, "Wed love to do more, but were committed to delivering polished updates, which takes time and care!" Take a look at the official "year one" roadmap below.A Year One Battle Plan for Warhammer 40,000 Space Marine 2, showing what elements will arrive in future updates.The roadmap indicates that players can expect a few substantial updates in the coming months. Releasing sometime during the Space Marine 2's third season, Patch 7 will add a new PvP mission, custom PvP lobbies, PvE Prestige ranks, and a new weapon. Updates in spring will bring a Horde Mode, a new enemy, a new PvP arena, a new PvP mode, and new weapons. The post also promises that the game will continue to receive support after 2025.Continue Reading at GameSpot

Donkey Kong Country Returns HD Release-Day Deal - $50 (was $60) Get deal at Woot Donkey Kong Country Returns HD is up for grabs for a pretty steep discount just two weeks after its release for Nintendo Switch. Over at Woot, you can pick up a physical copy of the new platformer for only $45 (was $60). Woot previously offered the game for $50 on launch day (January 16) before selling out. If you missed that deal, now you can score an even better one. We'd be surprised to see Woot's offer stick around for long.The Amazon-owned outlet store that has had a bevy of Nintendo game deals in recent months, including dozens of active promotions. DKC Returns HD is a wonderful side-scrolling platformer with 80 levels spread across nine worlds. It originally released in 2010 for Nintendo Wii and was ported to 3DS in 2013. If you want to revisit the challenging adventure starring DK and Diddy in high definition, you may want to grab this deal soon. Woot's launch discounts on new Nintendo games tend to sell out.Continue Reading at GameSpot

Storybook Magic is an important currency that youll need in order to make the most out of your Storybook Vale adventure. This expansion adds three adorable characters, each living in a new biome, and to unlock these biomes (and all new characters), Dreamers will need Storybook Magic.

Squid Game is undoubtedly the biggest thriller TV series of the decade since this is an extremely suspenseful story in which every single decision the characters make can result in their abrupt deaths. Because of this, its almost impossible for everyone to come out of the titular death game alive.