Two wayward space rocks, which separately crashed to Earth in 1998 after circulating in our solar system's asteroid belt for billions of years, share something else in common: the ingredients for life. They are the first ...
Space Exploration
Jan 10, 2018
6
3781
(Phys.org)—Using the Shanghai Tianma 65m Radio Telescope (TMRT) a team of Chinese astronomers has detected a widespread presence of glycolaldehyde and ethylene glycol around the giant molecular cloud Sagittarius B2. The ...
Astronomers using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) have detected the faint molecular fingerprint of methyl chloride - a chemical commonly produced by industrial and biological processes here on Earth ...
Astronomy
Oct 2, 2017
0
286
Ice analogs mimicking interstellar ice behave like liquids at temperatures between -210°C and -120°C according to Hokkaido University researchers. This liquid-like ice may enhance the formation of organic compounds including ...
Condensed Matter
Sep 29, 2017
4
265
Two teams of astronomers have harnessed the power of the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) in Chile to detect the prebiotic complex organic molecule methyl isocyanate in the multiple star system IRAS 16293-2422. ...
Astronomy
Jun 8, 2017
2
915
Like a pair of human hands, certain organic molecules have mirror-image versions of themselves, a chemical property known as chirality. These so-called "handed" molecules are essential for biology and have intriguingly been ...
Astronomy
Jun 14, 2016
23
3975
A team of NASA-funded scientists has solved an enduring mystery from the Apollo missions to the moon - the origin of organic matter found in lunar samples returned to Earth. Samples of the lunar soil brought back by the Apollo ...
Space Exploration
Oct 28, 2015
9
2089
Comet Lovejoy lived up to its name by releasing large amounts of alcohol as well as a type of sugar into space, according to new observations by an international team. The discovery marks the first time ethyl alcohol, the ...
Space Exploration
Oct 23, 2015
42
43295
Stanford scientists have discovered a surprising source for an organic molecule used as an indicator for life on early Earth.
Biochemistry
Oct 20, 2015
20
1466
(Phys.org)—A group of researchers have provided a proof-of-concept procedure for making a solid-state molecular-sized switch. They combined a mechanically interlocked molecule with a pre-synthetized metal-organic framework ...
