Amino Acid Relative Found in a Cosmic Cloud ⚡ экспресс
Glycine—the simplest amino acid—hasn't been found in interstellar space, but scientists have now reliably detected its isomer methyl carbamate in the hot core G358.93-0.03 MM1 using ALMA. Ten distinct spectral lines allowed them to determine the temperature (204 K) and abundance. The results show that the chemistry of such molecules is governed not by thermodynamic equilibrium but by reaction rates—like in a cosmic reactor where speed, not final stability, matters. This gives a key to understanding how amino acids arise in star-forming regions.
For nearly half a century, astronomers searched space for glycine, one of the simplest building blocks of proteins. Instead, in a cloud surrounding a newborn star, they found methyl carbamate, its isomer: the same atoms, but assembled differently, like two models from the same set of parts.
The ALMA antenna array captured the molecule's signal. Its radio fingerprint revealed that methyl carbamate is about a hundred times more abundant than expected in a stable equilibrium. It seems that in these cosmic nurseries, chemical reactions proceed not sedately, but briskly and rapidly.
Likely, the substance forms on the surface of dust grains from carbon-rich debris—like pieces of a construction set randomly gluing together in the dark. Now, by comparing the abundance of methyl carbamate and other building blocks across different parts of the Galaxy, scientists can trace the path from simple molecules to life’s complex bricks.
🎯 On Earth, the same methyl carbamate is a raw material for medicines and... insecticides. So the molecule that helps us understand the origins of life also underpins the creation of means to destroy it.
🎬 The idea of panspermia, that life can hitch a ride on comets, gains chemical support. Fred Hoyle already painted a similar scenario in his novel 'The Black Cloud'.