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Molecule Vital to Happiness Found in Material From Asteroid Bennu
- New analysis of Bennu samples detects tryptophan, a precursor for serotonin, in multiple portions of the material.
- Researchers confirm the presence of 14 amino acids and the five common nucleobases in Bennu samples.
- The discovery supports theories that prebiotic ingredients could form in primitive solar system bodies and be delivered to early Earth.
- The researchers caution that finding tryptophan alone cannot prove life originated from space.
- Bennu’s composition is brecciated and non-homogeneous, indicating multiple processes likely produced the observed molecules.
- The study highlights water-involved processes as a driver of prebiotic chemistry in Bennu material.
- Sample return missions from various planetary bodies are crucial for advancing cosmochemistry knowledge.
- The findings were published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
- NASA's OSIRIS-REx mission provided Bennu samples that enabled this analysis.
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