Prebiotic Ingredient: How Scientists Discovered a Precursor of Life Around a Young Star

Ingredients for life were found by scientists around a young star in a new study and may end up on the planet.

A team of astronomers has found a critical link in the ingredients for life on earth by observing vital prebiotic molecules surrounding a still-forming star.

Prebiotics of Life

A distinguishing factor that separates the living and non-living is life's ability to use a multitude of molecular tools to transport, store, and release energy. The same takes place in the human body, where DNA and RNA supervise chemical civilizations.

All complex molecules rely on precursors known as prebiotics. Although researchers aren't sure how complex life sprung on Earth. But, one thing is clear, for living organisms to thrive, there are stages of complexities involving precursor molecules.

In a recent study accepted for publication in the Astronomy and Astrophysics journal, astronomers found notable evidence that methyl isocyanate and glycolonitrile precursor molecules are in deep space.

Astronomers found prebiotics in both Serpens SMM1-a and IRAS 16293B, where protostars can be found.

Protostars are nearly stars because they are still in the process of forming and collapsing clouds of dust and gas. These celestial bodies have not achieved the density and temperature required to trigger nuclear fusion.

Hence, to study the origins of life, researchers and astronomers must look into stellar wombs like the two designations.

What are Protostars?

Stars form when molecular clouds fragment and collapse into dense clumps. Initially, the clumps contain 0.01 solar masses of material that later increase as surrounding materials accumulate.

The state of stellar evolution ranges from 100,000 to 10 million years, depending on the size of the star. If the result is a protostar with an average solar mass of 0.08, it will begin hydrogen burning and join the main normal stars' sequence.

However, protostars with fewer solar masses do not reach sufficient temperatures for hydrogen burning and become brown dwarf stars.

Unlike other celestial bodies, protostars are enshrouding in dust and gas and cannot be detectable via visible wavelengths. To study this, astronomers use either infrared or microwave wavelengths.

Studying Protostars and Prebiotics

To identify the prebiotic molecules, astronomers used spectroscopy- the study of matter using electromagnetic radiation.

The stars, at this point, are only clumps of dense dust clouds. They aren't as hot and bright as fully-fledged stars, making observations difficult unless researchers use a very powerful radio telescope.

Astronomers utilized the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array in Chile to carefully study light emitting from the protostars. Buried underneath the light, astronomers found subtle hints of various elements and molecules with their own wavelength fingerprints.

Researchers matched observed wavelength fingerprints with known existing elements that led them to the discovery of prebiotics.

Check out more news and information on Space on Science Times.