Astronomy

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NASA finds water and organics in asteroid sample—possible clues to origin of life (arstechnica.com)

submitted 1 year ago by btaf45 to c/[email protected]

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[–] [email protected] 15 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Can't wait to see headlines confusing "organic" with "biological"

[–] Caboose12000 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

can you explain the difference? I genuinely dont know

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Sure thing! In chemistry, an organic compound is anything that has carbon in it. Carbon dioxide, for example, is an organic compound. While organic compounds are what life is made of, they don't necessarily come from life. Biological, in this context, would be something that's part of a living thing.

If any actual chemists want to correct anything I've said wrong or expand on this that would be appreciated

[–] Caboose12000 2 points 1 year ago

thanks for the explanation!