

News
NASA lab confirms DNA sugar can be made in space, adding evidence that ‘life’ could be all over the universe
NASA researchers at the Ames’ Astrophysics and Astrochemistry Lab in Mountain View, California have provided the first experimental evidence demonstrating that the sugar in DNA – 2-deoxyribose – can be formed in interstellar space. In their study published on December 18, 2018 in the journal Nature Communications, Michel Nuevo, George Cooper, and Scott Sandford combined organic compounds, water vapor, and light – all elements present in interstellar space – inside a vacuum chamber mimicking the cosmic environment and observed the results. Along with the DNA sugar, a variety of other sugar derivatives were found to have been created. This discovery is more evidence that the chemical building blocks of life could be common all over the universe, seeding other planets as they did Earth in the ancient past.
One of the biggest questions science is constantly pursuing is whether we are alone in the universe, a research endeavor that takes many paths. Astrophysicist Carl Sagan is famously quoted often, saying, “The nitrogen in our DNA, the calcium in our teeth, the iron in our blood, the carbon in our apple pies were made in the interiors of collapsing stars. We are made of star stuff.” It meant that the universe is filled with the building blocks of life, thus the pursuit to find out how those building blocks combine to actually form life is an endeavor with the farthest reaching implications. Scott Sandford, one of the study’s researchers, added to this in reference to his own team’s experiment, saying, “The universe is an organic chemist. It has big beakers and lots of time – and the result is a lot of organic material, some of which is useful to life.”
To make their discovery, the Ames team cooled an aluminum substance to near absolute zero inside a vacuum chamber (since space is a vacuum), and added a mixture of water vapor and methanol gas before exposing it to ultraviolet light and heat, fully mimicking the interstellar environment. The space between stars is filled with dust and gases and is constantly subjected to light particles bombarding in from every radiation-emitting source around it. The experiment was designed to help answer the question of whether the space environment itself can make the compounds essential to life rather than just the single-elemental building blocks. Another team of researchers in France previously discovered the creation of ribose – the sugar in RNA, a possible precursor to DNA – in an experiment similar to the current study, setting the stage for the team’s further findings.
A growing number of organic compounds have been found on meteorites over the years including carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, and sulphur. Despite the actively changing geography of Earth complicating the discovery of remnants from its very early days, scientists have been able to find and study things like carbonaceous chondrites, meteorites originating from asteroids as old as our solar system. This research has made it possible to analyze how planets have formed and evolved over billions of years. Combining this type of research along with other work demonstrating that meteorites in general contain the building blocks of life and travel throughout the galaxies of the universe, the expanding number of exoplanets being found could imply even more significant possibilities.
Exoplanets, i.e., planets that orbit stars other than our own, are being discovered on a regular basis as data from prior and current observatory and telescope missions is reviewed. Over the last 20 years since “planet hunting” really got started, over 3800 exoplanets have been confirmed with around 2900 more awaiting confirmation. By observing the amount of light a distant star dims over period of time, scientists can determine whether there is a planet orbiting it, its size, distance from its star, and the colors missing in the planets’ atmosphere light spectrum which tell what chemicals are present, such as oxygen, carbon dioxide, nitrogen, and so forth. After analyzing all of these things, it can be predicted whether an exoplanet may be Earth-like and whether it’s in what’s called the “Goldilocks Zone”, or position where life as we know it might have the right conditions to evolve.
That may seem like a lot of conditions to meet, but it’s estimated that around 20-50 percent of the stars in our night sky may have small, rocky planets in their stars’ habitable zones. As more is learned about planet formation, that number may be revised up or down. Thus far, one planetary system has been studied extensively that has planets somewhat similar to Earth: TRAPPIST-1. It’s comprised of an ultra-cool dwarf star with 7 rocky worlds orbiting it, all of them potentially having water, some more than Earth. Considering the growing evidence that the seeds for life to evolve are prominently distributed and created throughout space with the number of potentially Earth-like planets being discovered, we may have some exciting news from the interstellar world in the near future.
Elon Musk
Tesla called ‘biggest meme stock we’ve ever seen’ by Yale associate dean

Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) is being called “the biggest meme stock we’ve ever seen” by Yale School of Management Senior Associate Dean Jeff Sonnenfeld, who made the comments in a recent interview with CNBC.
Sonnenfeld’s comments echo those of many of the company’s skeptics, who argue that its price-to-earnings ratio is far too high when compared to other companies also in the tech industry. Tesla is often compared to companies like Apple, Nvidia, and Microsoft when these types of discussions come up.
Fundamentally, yes, Tesla does trade at a P/E level that is significantly above that of any comparable company.
However, it is worth mentioning that Tesla is not traded like a typical company, either.
Here’s what Sonnenfeld said regarding Tesla:
“This is the biggest meme stock we’ve ever seen. Even at its peak, Amazon was nowhere near this level. The PE on this, well above 200, is just crazy. When you’ve got stocks like Nvidia, the price-earnings ratio is around 25 or 30, and Apple is maybe 35 or 36, Microsoft around the same. I mean, this is way out of line to be at a 220 PE. It’s crazy, and they’ve, I think, put a little too much emphasis on the magic wand of Musk.”
Many analysts have admitted in the past that they believe Tesla is an untraditional stock in the sense that many analysts trade it based on narrative and not fundamentals. Ryan Brinkman of J.P. Morgan once said:
“Tesla shares continue to strike us as having become completely divorced from the fundamentals.”
Dan Nathan, another notorious skeptic of Tesla shares, recently turned bullish on the stock because of “technicals and sentiment.” He said just last week:
“I think from a trading perspective, it looks very interesting.”
Nathan said Tesla shares show signs of strength moving forward, including holding its 200-day moving average and holding against current resistance levels.
Sonnenfeld’s synopsis of Tesla shares points out that there might be “a little too much emphasis on the magic wand of Musk.”
Elon Musk just bought $1 billion in Tesla stock, his biggest purchase ever
This could refer to different things: perhaps his recent $1 billion stock buy, which sent the stock skyrocketing, or the fact that many Tesla investors are fans and owners who do not buy and sell on numbers, but rather on news that Musk might report himself.
Tesla is trading around $423.76 at the time of publication, as of 3:25 p.m. on the East Coast.
News
Tesla makes big change to Full Self-Driving doghouse that drivers will like
Now, it is changing the timeframe of which strikes will be removed, cutting it in half. The strikes will be removed every 3.5 days, as long as no strikes are received during the time period.

Tesla is making a big change to its Full Self-Driving doghouse that drivers will like.
The doghouse is a hypothetical term used to describe the penalty period that Tesla applies to drivers who receive too many infractions related to distracted driving.
Previously, Tesla implemented a seven-day ban on the use of Full Self-Driving for those who received five strikes in a vehicle equipped with a cabin camera and three strikes for those without a cabin camera.
It also forgave one strike per week of Full Self-Driving use, provided the driver did not receive any additional strikes during the seven-day period.
Now, it is changing the timeframe of which strikes will be removed, cutting it in half. The strikes will be removed every 3.5 days, as long as no strikes are received during the time period.
The change was found by Not a Tesla App, which noticed the adjustment in the Owner’s Manual for the 2025.32 Software Update.
The system undoubtedly helps improve safety as it helps keep drivers honest. However, there are definitely workarounds, which people are using and promoting for monetary gain, and you can find them on basically any online marketplace, including TikTok shop and Amazon:
🚨 Seeing more and more devices like this land on various online marketplaces including TikTok shop and Amazon
These devices are NOT to be used when operating Tesla Full Self-Driving and I’d love to see Tesla take action here.
These “creators” looking to make a quick buck are… pic.twitter.com/VnY25k2mPL
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) September 17, 2025
People are marketing the product as an FSD cheat device, which the cabin-facing camera will not be able to detect, allowing you to watch something on a phone or look through the windshield at the road.
The safeguards implemented by Tesla are designed to protect drivers from distractions and also protect the company itself from liability. People are still using Full Self-Driving as if it were a fully autonomous product, and it is not.
Tesla even says that the driver must pay attention and be ready to take over in any scenario:
“Yes. Autopilot is a driver assistance system that is intended to be used only with a fully attentive driver. It does not turn a Tesla into a fully autonomous vehicle.
Before enabling Autopilot, you must agree to “keep your hands on the steering wheel at all times” and to always “maintain control and responsibility for your vehicle.” Once engaged, Autopilot will also deliver an escalating series of visual and audio warnings, reminding you to place your hands on the wheel if insufficient torque is applied or your vehicle otherwise detects you may not be attentive enough to the road ahead. If you repeatedly ignore these warnings, you will be locked out from using Autopilot during that trip.
You can override any of Autopilot’s features at any time by steering or applying the accelerator at any time.”
It is good that Tesla is rewarding those who learn from their mistakes with this shorter timeframe to lose the strikes. It won’t be needed forever, though, as eventually, the company will solve autonomy. The question is: when?
Elon Musk
Elon Musk teases the capabilities of the Tesla Roadster once again

Elon Musk has once again teased the capabilities of the Tesla Roadster, fueling the anticipation that many have for the vehicle, despite it still having no public production or delivery date.
The Roadster is among the most anticipated vehicles in the automotive sector currently, and as Tesla has teased its capabilities, from a lightning-fast 1.1-second 0-60 MPH acceleration to potential hovering with cold-gas thrusters, people are eager to see it.
Although the design seemed to be finalized, there was still more work to be done. Earlier this year, as Tesla was showcasing some of the Roadster’s capabilities to Musk, he stated that it was capable of even more.
This pushed back its production date even further, much to the chagrin of those who have been waiting years for it.
Musk continues to tease us all, and as we sit here waiting hopelessly for it to be revealed, he said today that it is “something special beyond a car.”
The new Roadster is something special beyond a car
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 17, 2025
Musk’s words were in response to a video posted by Tesla China, showing the Roadster in a new promotional video created by a fan.
The Roadster was planned to be released in 2020, but here we are in 2025, and there is still no sign of the vehicle entering production. However, Tesla did say earlier this year that it would host a demo event for the Roadster, where the company would showcase its capabilities.
Lars Moravy said earlier this year:
“Roadster is definitely in development. We did talk about it last Sunday night. We are gearing up for a super cool demo. It’s going to be mind-blowing; We showed Elon some cool demos last week of the tech we’ve been working on, and he got a little excited.”
Tesla exec gives big update on Roadster, confirming recent rumor
The delays have been attributed to “radically increased design goals” for the vehicle, which have, without a doubt, improved its capabilities, but at the same time, we just want to know if it’s ever going to come.
Tesla can always make it “better,” but at what point do you say, “Okay, it’s time to show this thing off.” They could always build another, even more capable supercar in the next ten years.
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