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RedYachtClub t1_jd7v2gi wrote

Reply to comment by More-Grocery-1858 in A crucial building block of life exists on the asteroid Ryugu. Uracil, a component of RNA, was found in a sample collected by Japan’s Hayabusa2 spacecraft. by Science_News

What are the odds that similar DNA structures also arose on other worlds?

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More-Grocery-1858 t1_jd7y8yd wrote

DNA is one of two common "coding languages" for life on Earth. The other is RNA.

The mere fact that we know of two functioning "coding languages" increases the odds of one of them being found elsewhere.

There may, however, be other possible languages that use the same or similar building blocks in different ways. Scientists on Earth have done some limited research in this area and it looks plausible. This also increases the odds.

Finally, finding these building blocks on objects outside the Earth's atmosphere increases those odds as well.

I can't cite specific numbers, but the chance of discovering alien life looks more promising the more we discover about the universe.

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