Ryugu, Bennu, and cosmic chemistry

10:58nucleotides that we did. >> So, you're saying there's a chance? >> Yeah, [laughter] it's it's it's kind of crazy, right? And the big picture is, so this isn't actually the first time, okay? Um NASA >> had a similar experiment in 2023 where they went to the asteroid Ben New >> and they found samples that had the five nucleotide bases. What's cool about this is one that wasn't a fluke. The fact that it's happened again on a different asteroid means that this is something that is probably ubiquitous >> in asteroids and comets, >> which is incredible. >> Which is cool. Yeah, >> that's incredible. It's not a one-off thing. It's not like a special asteroid. >> We got lucky one time. >> Yeah. Yeah. >> That's not what we're talking about.

11:38>> Twice and and we and we find nucleotide bases. >> Not that this and there's another variable in a short time frame as well. It's not this is every hundred years, every 300 years, every thousand years, something happens to come around that has it. This was in a >> Yeah. And this is just local to our solar system, which is also great. >> Yeah. I I think I think I think it's really cool. And what you can do now and what the paper did is specifically compare the ryu composition of nucleotides with the benu composition of nucleotides and they actually have different ratios. >> Okay. >> So both asteroids have the same building blocks of adinine, guanine, cytosine, thymine and uricil. The same nucleotides

12:19that we have but the proportions are completely different. In Benu, it's heavily skewed towards the paramedines, which are the cytosine, the thymine, and the uricil. But in Ryu, they're more balanced. Now, what does that mean? That means that for one, there's complex chemistry happening, right? Either it's happening at the genesis of when the asteroid like formed or it's happening out in deep space when this stuff interacts with the ammonia that's on the asteroid, all the other stuff that's on the asteroid, and with the solar wind and with radiation from all over the place like cosmic rays. Um, it could mean that it has something to do with the water rock interactions that are on the the asteroid, the internal

12:59temperatures. But the main thing is it's a lot more complicated up there, right? There's like actual chemistry happening. >> We have >> and it doesn't have to be on a planet. We have a cosmic oven, a cosmic easy bake oven that is our galact intergalactic postal service. Yeah. Like you sort of mentioned which and I think part of the point what what I'm getting from the point you're bringing up here is you know we like to keep our assumptions conservative when it comes to particularly things like what's happening on earth is happening everywhere else. We like to see it. Yeah. Before we believe it. >> Exactly. >> Sure. Maybe it's happening other places,

13:42but let's actually get not only one use case, Bennu, but multiple use cases. And the idea that we're having now um a catalog. Now, we now say there's a catalog because it's more than one. [laughter] >> Yes. And as we do more and more, I'm sure we're going to find more and more asteroids with these building blocks, right? It's like the universe is like inherently preloaded >> with the chemical ingredients that are necessary for life. It's kind of insane. >> It's it's really fascinating. This is re and I mean there's so many again it feels like people well we've already known this like why does it matter? Um but as we know with the process of science like being able to have

14:23replicability uh matters a lot. These these missions are not cheap. >> No. >> Right. To to pull this off. >> Yeah. Um, >> and this is two this is two different space agencies doing it. Right. Right. So there's no conspiracy unless Japan is in on it. >> Yeah. Right. Right. Which look look we'll put the >> I'm just I know every Oh, of course. Yeah. Of course they're collaborating to conspire here. But it's not even something that's that, you know, quote unquote sexy to like even waste the time to do so. Um I this is a really big deal. And I do think the mix difference is also quite interesting because I imagine that there are several follow-up inquiries into

15:06seeing their journey. >> Mhm. >> And understanding based on that that journey, why is that mix different? >> Yeah. >> Um, fascinating.