Topic: Sugar in Space.  (Read 1222 times)

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Offline Nemesis

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Sugar in Space.
« on: September 02, 2012, 11:18:49 am »
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The young star, called IRAS 16293-2422, is part of a binary (or two-star) system. It has a similar mass to the sun and is located about 400 light-years away in the constellation of Ophiuchus. The sugar molecules, known as glycolaldehyde, have previously been detected in interstellar space, but according to the researchers, this is the first time they have been spotted so close to a sun-like star.


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"This molecule is one of the ingredients in the formation of RNA, which — like DNA, to which it is related — is one of the building blocks of life."

Glycolaldehyde can react with a substance called propenal to form ribose, which is a major component of RNA, or ribonucleic acid. RNA is similar to DNA, which is considered one of the primary molecules in the origin of life.


Apparently drifting inward towards the habitable zone.  Precursors to life?  Components for abiogenesis to begin?
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