Last year, 2024, was the warmest year on record for the planet, easily breaking the previous record set just a year earlier.

A NASA spacecraft has returned asteroid samples that hold not only the pristine building blocks for life but also the salty remains of an ancient water world.

Rock and dust samples from the Bennu asteroid contain molecules that are the "key to life" on Earth, NASA officials announced on Wednesday.

There are 20 amino acids that create the proteins required for life on our planet — and scientists have now found exactly 14 of them on an asteroid millions of miles away. The asteroid in question, named Bennu, was the focus of a very dreamy NASA mission called OSIRIS-REx that launched in 2016.

All forms of Earth life have specific chemicals in their makeup, such as amino acids and sugars. Scientists have known that asteroids hold molecules believed to be the precursors to these chemicals. By studying the Bennu samples, they hope to gain more insight into how these ingredients could have evolved.

Scientists from NASA and other institutions who have been analyzing the Bennu asteroid sample that returned to Earth last September found molecules, including amino acids, which are essential ingredients of life as we know it.

Molecules friendly to life have been found in samples of the asteroid Bennu, which NASA collected with a robotic probe five years ago.

NASA appears to be retaining existing plans to return astronauts from the International Space Station after calls to bring them back “as soon as possible.”

Other research has shown red light therapy could minimize the appearance of wrinkles, hyperpigmentation, and broken blood vessels—and improve skin hydration and elasticity. Another study found that red and blue light therapy could help mild to moderate acne, with red light minimizing inflammation.