This is a Big Deal: Bio-Essential Sugars Discovered in Samples from Asteroid Bennu

How did the molecular building blocks of life arrive at early Earth? To find out, NASA sent a spacecraft called OSIRIS-REx to collect samples from the carbon-rich asteroid Bennu. Now, a team of Japanese and US scientists have discovered the bio-essential sugars ribose and glucose within the Bennu samples. RNA uses ribose for its structure. Glucose provides cells with energy and is used to make fibers like cellulose, a structural component of cell walls. The discovery suggests that these simple sugars were brought to the early Earth by meteorites. In this interview, NASA scientist and OSIRIS-REx Co-Investigator Daniel Glavin discusses the discovery of ribose and glucose in the Bennu samples and the implications for the formation and evolution of life.