boron
Breakthrough in hunt for life on Mars
Researchers have discovered another clear indicator that life once existed on Mars. NASA's Curiosity rover has found evidence of boron on the red planet's surface. It is a key ingredient for life, and scientists say the find is a huge boost in the hunt for life. RNA (ribonucleic acid) is a nucleic acid present in all modern life, but scientists have long hypothesized an'RNA World,' where the first proto-life was made of individual RNA strands that both contained genetic information and could copy itself. A key ingredient of RNA is a sugar called ribose.