3 ms·
https://www.nasa.gov/missions/osiris-rex/sugars-gum-stardust-found-in-nasas-asteroid-bennu-samples/ https://www.nasa.gov/missions/osiris-rex/sugars-gum-stardust
by ceejayoz 8mo ago
https://www.nasa.gov/missions/osiris-rex/sugars-gum-stardust-found-in-nasas-asteroid-bennu-samples/ https://www.nasa.gov/missions/osiris-rex/sugars-gum-stardust...
> The five-carbon sugar ribose and, for the first time in an extraterrestrial sample, six-carbon glucose were found.
The soup does matter, as does finding that the ingredients are everywhere.
- pfdietz 8mo agoFinding exponentially decreasing amounts of specific chemicals is about as informative as finding short words in strings of random letters.
- ceejayoz 8mo agoFinding short words in strings of random letters at least establishes the existence of letters and words. It doesn't demonstrate the existence of Shakespeare's works, but it's a building block that's good to know exists.
- pfdietz 8mo agoAll it means is you can say "if life is rare, it's not because these specific small chemicals can't be produced". Which is a rather weak thing to say. It doesn't imply life isn't rare, or that further advancement the existence of these small building blocks is easy or inevitable.
- ceejayoz 8mo ago> All it means is you can say "if life is rare, it's not because these specific small chemicals can't be produced". This is absolutely a good finding to have in your pocket.
- pfdietz 8mo ago"Good"? Ok, if it makes you feel better. But scientifically, it doesn't do much.
- kakacik 8mo agoWhats your problem with this topic? Highly confronting posts about nothing. Iterative approach to science seems foreign here.
- pfdietz 8mo agoThere's a tremendous amount of confidently stated bullshit on the issue of OoL that I have long since lost all patience with. What's your problem with the debunking of falsehood?
- ceejayoz 8mo agoYou asked "does it contain ribose"; I answered (with a reputable source) in the affirmative. Where's the falsehood?
- pfdietz 8mo agoI also asked about other things you have conveniently forgotten to mention there. The overarching falsehood is that identification of biologically relevant molecules at 200 ppb levels, in a soup of tens of thousands of other chemicals, moves the needle any in figuring out OoL.
- pixl97 8mo agoFinding strong things here is going to be difficult. Sometimes you have to take a bunch of weak things to figure out where they lie for guidance.