Amino Acid Relative Found in a Cosmic Cloud ⚡ экспресс
The simplest amino acid, glycine, has long evaded detection in space. Scientists have now reliably found its "cousin"—methyl carbamate—in a hot cloud where stars are born. It's like finding traces of a forgotten ingredient in the kitchen: it hints at how the molecules of life are cooked up. So why does glycine itself hide so cleverly?
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'.