Are the ‘Seeds of Life’ Assembled in Space? A Stunning Discovery Says It’s Possible
NO LOC, JUL 24 – Seventeen complex organic molecules, including precursors to amino acids and sugars, were identified in a young star's disc, indicating potential widespread prebiotic chemistry in space.
- Using ALMA, researchers observed ethylene glycol and glycolonitrile in the protoplanetary disc around protostar V883 Orionis.
- During the protostar-to-star transition, findings show that complex chemistry survives and might thrive during this brief window, despite intense radiation, gas ejections, and shock waves.
- Their inventory included glycolonitrile and ethylene glycol, revealing seventeen molecules, including precursors to life such as glycine, alanine, and adenine.
- Their study appeared in The Astrophysical Journal Letters, marking a significant step in understanding prebiotic chemistry in young solar systems.
- These findings hint at widespread building blocks across the cosmos, and Abubakar Fadul said future searches could reveal more discoveries.
17 Articles
17 Articles
It is not the first time that astronomers detect organic molecules in space. Essential ingredients for life that increasingly seem to be everywhere, which leads them to think that life, or at least its basic components, are part of the 'natural chemistry' of the Universe. After all, molecular 'seeds' such as these gave rise to the whole life of our planet, and it is logical to think that they flourished in many other places as well.The last piec…
Are the ‘Seeds of Life’ Assembled in Space? A Stunning Discovery Says It’s Possible
(Credit: ESO/L. Calçada/T. Müller (MPIA/HdA)) Welcome to this edition of The Intelligence Brief… This week, a team of astronomers using the ALMA telescope has made a landmark discovery in the search for life’s origins, detecting complex organic molecules—including ethylene glycol and glycolonitrile—in the disc of the young star V883 Orionis. In our analysis, we’ll explore 1) how this discovery strengthens the case that life’s chemical precursors…
Life, as it exists on Earth, is based on complex organic molecules. In a far distant star system, researchers are now discovering substances that are considered to be the precursor of these compounds. Researchers suspect a process that is widespread in the universe.
Scientists, led by the German Max Planck Institute of Astronomy, have found signs of complex organic molecules -precursors of sugars and amino acids- in a planetary formation disk. The evolution of life - they maintain- could have its origin in outer space, EFE reviews. Using the ALMA telescope in Chile, the team, directed [...] The entry The evolution of life could have its origin in outer space was first published in Information Focus.
The Evolution Of Life May Have Its Origins In Outer Space - Astrobiology
Using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), a team of astronomers led by Abubakar Fadul from the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy (MPIA) has discovered complex organic molecules – including the first tentative detection of ethylene glycol and glycolonitrile – in the protoplanetary disc of the outbursting protostar V883 Orionis. These compounds are considered precursors […] The post The Evolution Of Life May Have Its Origins …
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