The void of molecular clouds—giant collections of gas and dust that eventually collapses into star systems—turns out to be excellent gardens for the growth of some of the essential parts that make up life. New research by Serge Krasnokotsky of the Laboratory of Astrophysics group at the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy and colleagues adds peptides to the list of organic molecules that can form in space. Their findings were published in the journal Nature Astronomy. “We have explored the formation of biomolecules in various ways before, most often through active processes. In the Miller-Urey experiment, they supply an electric spark in a glass case that leads to the formation of biomolecules,” Krasnokutski told SYFY WIRE. This active process indiscriminately destroys chemical bonds. It’s not an effective way to get biological molecules.”
Scientists want to find a way to build peptide-like biomolecules in an environment that mimics the conditions of a molecular cloud in space, but there appears to be a major hurdle. On Earth, the process of peptide formation requires first the introduction of water, and then the removal of water in later steps. When the carbon atoms reach the surface of the ice, we see the reactions taking place. We found that it was highly reactive with almost all the molecules we studied, even at these very low temperatures,” Krasnokotsky said.
This substrate replaces the existing dust particles in outer space. The team then deposited carbon monoxide, ammonia, and single carbon atoms – a chemical common in the targeted region of space – onto a substrate where the gas solidified. These reactions form an aminoketene, a peptide precursor, under these conditions. Then, these aminoketens meet and react to form peptides without having to go through a complex water reaction that was previously considered necessary.
“We have a high vacuum that allows us to achieve a vacuum state similar to dense regions in the interstellar medium. Then we have the substrate in the chamber which is cooled to 10 K,” Krasnokotsky said. Krasnokotsky wondered if there was a way to bypass the water step and access the peptide along a different chemical pathway. To find out, they built space isotopes in the lab to see what chemical reactions might occur.
“The formation of peptides in space will certainly influence the origin of life,” Krasnokotsky said. “If those peptides or even proteins could be delivered to the planet’s surface, these molecules could lead to the formation of complex organic systems. At this point we have found this formation, everything else is just speculation.” So far, they have been able to form glycine peptides through this process, but Krasnokotsky believes that other peptides and even proteins can be made by a similar process. If proven, it could fill in some of the gaps in our picture of how life on Earth formed.
We may not be extraterrestrials on our planet, but it is possible that at least some of our fundamental parts come from extraterrestrials. We don’t know about you, but we think it’s pretty cool.
Space news highlights
- Title: Glysine peptides form in molecular clouds in outer space
- See all news and articles from space news Information updates.
Disclaimer: If you need to update/modify this article, please visit our Help Center. For the latest updates, follow us on JaaGkee News
–
