Molecule's 'fingerprint' may help explain formation of life on Earth

Researchers use sulfur molecules to search for more similar ones in distant space. This could allow the reconstruction of Earth's molecules that formed thousands of years ago.

Molecule's 'fingerprint' may help explain formation of life on Earth

The chemical element sulfur is essential for all lifeforms and is a building block of proteins and amino acids. By studying sulfur-based molecules in space, scientists are working to understand the chemical processes that might have led to the formation of life on Earth.

Did you know that some molecules and their electrons can generate superpowers? How is it possible for a hard drive to store magnetic information? Or for a television to emit such pure lights and colors? The secret is in electrons. Much of what you are and most of the things you interact with in your day-to-day are composed of molecules. As people engaged in chemistry, we can study virtually any molecule that we come up with so we can move in new…

If only left-handed helical spirals are applied to the cobalt copper surface, they clearly prefer cobalt islands with a certain direction of magnetization. Image: Peter-Grünberg-Institut/Jülich DMZ – SCIENCE/ MM ¦ AA ¦ Dübendorf, St. Gallen and Thun - The question of the chirality of life, i.e. why biomolecular structures such as amino acids and sugar only occur in one of two mirror-imaged forms in living organisms, has long been occupied by sci…

A special type of sulfur molecule called simple deuterated methylmercaptan (CH2DSH), detected in a young star similar to the Sun, can help explain the formation of life on Earth.

How Did Multicellular Life Evolve?

At first, life on Earth was simple. Cells existed, functioned and reproduced as free-living individuals. But then, something remarkable happened. Some cells joined forces, working together instead of being alone. This transition, known as multicellularity, was a pivotal event in the history of life on Earth. Multicellularity enabled greater biological complexity, which sparked an extraordinary… Source