The Perseus Molecular Cloud complex, one of the nearest star forming regions and rich in young … [+]
The ingredients for life may have formed in interstellar space alongside stars or planets and be far older than scientists thought, according to new research by chemists.
It suggests that the James Webb Space Telescope should be looking for prebiotic molecules where stars and planets are forming.
Life On Earth
Life requires chemical elements (carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, phosphorus and sulfur), liquid water and an energy source, according to NASA. Life on Earth dates back about 3.8 billion years, with the first fossils being about 3.5 billion years old. Among the carbon-based molecules that are the building blocks for life are amino acids, which some theories say may have formed on early Earth. However, this new research suggests a different source.
Interstellar Search
Research published Sunday in the journal ACS Central Science suggests that the simplest amino acid, carbamic acid, could have formed alongside stars or planets within the interstellar medium.
That conclusion comes from lab-based chemistry. The researchers created models of the grains of ice found in deep space, which contain ammonia and carbon dioxide. When slowly heated, they produced carbamic acid and ammonium carbamate, which can turn into more complex amino acids—the ingredients of life.
That means they could have formed during the universe’s earliest, coldest stages of star formation. They also discovered that the two molecules could combine to create a gas.
Extraterrestrial Origin
The study’s findings align with other research that suggests the extraterrestrial origin of the building blocks of life on Earth. All are building blocks for life. In April, prebiotic molecules were found in the Perseus Molecular Cloud, a young cluster of stars and gas in deep space, as reported by Space.com.
These findings fuel theories about where the ingredients for life originated and how they reached Earth.
Comet Strikes
A longstanding theory goes that asteroids and comets striking the planet over millions of years delivered all of Earth’s water. That may be how prebiotic molecules arrived here, too. Last year, intact amino acids and vitamin B3 were found on asteroid Ryugu, while comets are thought to host hydrogen cyanide.
A recent paper suggested that slow-moving comets traveling through planetary systems may spread the essentials for life around the galaxy.
Wishing you clear skies and wide eyes.
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