Scientists have detected organic compounds and minerals necessary for life in the samples collected by the OSIRIS-REx mission from a near-Earth asteroid named Bennu.

Pristine samples of the asteroid Bennu transported to Earth contain the "basic building blocks" for life, shedding new light on the perennial question of how life began on our planet.

Scientists reported this week that asteroid samples taken from a distant asteroid known as Bennu were found to contain key organic molecules necessary to sustain life. CBS News space consultant Bill Harwood has more.

NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission returned from space with a sample of an asteroid named Bennu, similar to the one that rained rocks over Revelstoke. Our research team has published a chemical analysis of those samples,