American scientists have made a surprising discovery in the Taurus constellation that may explain how life forms in the universe.
Writing in The Conversation, a research team led by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) reported that they have found large, complex molecules containing carbon and hydrogen in a dust and gas cloud in interstellar space, which could be the building blocks of life.
This dust and gas cloud is named Rosette, located 450 light-years from Earth in the Taurus constellation.
The Rosette Molecular Cloud – (Photo: ESA).
According to the article published in the journal Science, the molecule in question is called 1-cyanopyrene, a polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH), which is a type of molecule formed from rings of carbon atoms.
More importantly, 1-cyanopyrene is formed from a well-known substance called pyrene, when it interacts with cyanide.
Thus, this molecule is considered a “marker” of pyrene, as pyrene itself cannot be detected by telescopes.
Meanwhile, pyrene has been shown in other studies to be one of the components that formed the “backbone” of early life on Earth 3.7 billion years ago.
1-cyanopyrene is also the largest PAH discovered in space.
Although it is still small compared to the PAHs commonly seen on Earth, its existence in the harsh, radiation-filled interstellar environment is already remarkable.
Furthermore, based on the ratio of pyrene needed to produce 1-cyanopyrene, this new discovery also proves that there is an abundance of pyrene in this remote environment.
In other words, the first “seeds” of life seem to have been produced from this unexpected place.
This discovery is also linked to another important finding of the past decade, which is propylene oxide, the first chiral molecule found in interstellar space.
Chiral molecules are also types of molecules proven to be involved in the evolution of early Earth life forms.
“So far, our theory that the molecules that constitute early life on Earth originated from space still seems plausible,” concluded Dr. Maria Cunningham, a member of the research team.
