Life elsewhere: a few organic molecules found (Introduction)

by David Turell , Thursday, April 09, 2015, 02:38 (3516 days ago) @ David Turell

Cyanides present in stars:-http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/04/150408131422.htm-"For the first time, astronomers have detected the presence of complex organic molecules, the building blocks of life, in a protoplanetary disc surrounding a young star. The discovery, made with the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), reaffirms that the conditions that spawned the Earth and Sun are not unique in the Universe. The results are published in the 9 April 2015 issue of the journal Nature.-"The new ALMA observations reveal that the protoplanetary disc surrounding the young star MWC 480 [1] contains large amounts of methyl cyanide (CH3CN), a complex carbon-based molecule. There is enough methyl cyanide around MWC 480 to fill all of Earth's oceans.-"Both this molecule and its simpler cousin hydrogen cyanide (HCN) were found in the cold outer reaches of the star's newly formed disc, in a region that astronomers believe is analogous to the Kuiper Belt -- the realm of icy planetesimals and comets in our own Solar System beyond Neptune.-*******-"Importantly, the molecules ALMA detected are much more abundant than would be found in interstellar clouds. This tells astronomers that protoplanetary discs are very efficient at forming complex organic molecules and that they are able to form them on relatively short timescales [3].-"As this system continues to evolve, astronomers speculate that it's likely that the organic molecules safely locked away in comets and other icy bodies will be ferried to environments more nurturing to life.-"'From the study of exoplanets, we know the Solar System isn't unique in its number of planets or abundance of water," concluded Öberg. "Now we know we're not unique in organic chemistry. Once more, we have learnt that we're not special. From a life in the Universe point of view, this is great news.'"-But so far only eight amino acids have been found in meteorites landing on Earth. And we need 20 of an exact type for life.