Cosmic Pantry: Tryptophan, Bennu, and the Universal Chemistry of Life

New infrared fingerprints from the Spitzer Space Telescope point to tryptophan in the Perseus star‑forming region, suggesting life's essential ingredients may be widespread in the cosmos rather than a miraculous accident. Meanwhile, the OSIRIS‑REx mission shows Bennu's samples carry a near‑complete starter kit for life — 14 amino acids and all five nucleobases — implying complex organic chemistry was common in the early solar system. This episode explores what that means for life on other worlds and the idea that the universe may be chemically biased toward biology.

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