Organic Molecules Found Circling Nearby Star

sciencehabit writes Astronomers have detected chemical precursors of building blocks of life in the large disk of dust and gas whirling around a young nearby star. These complex organic molecules, two forms of cyanide and one chemically related compound, likely formed after the protoplanetary disk collapsed, the researchers say. The same chemicals are found in roughly similar proportions in comets circling our sun, which may have brought them to Earth billions of years ago. "We know that the solar system isn't unique in its number of planets or abundance of water," says Karin Öberg, an astrochemist at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics in Cambridge, Massachusetts. "Now we know that we're not unique in organic chemistry. From a life in the universe point of view, this is great news."

Comments

Life

[ArcadeMan]

Many are increasingly of the opinion that we've all made a big mistake in coming down from the trees in the first place. And some say that even the trees have been a bad move, and that no one should ever have left the oceans.

Wow.

[Anonymous Coward]

First a story about how plentiful water is, and now we discover that the molecules of life are plentiful too. There is absolutely no doubt that life has a foothold everywhere in this universe. We just need to get out there and find it. Then we can either fuck it, eat it, tax it, or worship it.

Re:Wow.

[sribe]

Then we can either fuck it, eat it...

You do realize, that never in our history, have those two choices been exclusive?

Re:Wow.

[justthinkit]

Cyanide eating bacteria.
Cyanide eating Bamboo Lemurs.

So life is a possibility...

[Bob_Who]

It would suck for life if organic molecules didn't exist.

Re:So life is a possibility...

[rubycodez]

the Horta in the cave out back wishes to have a word with you.

Amazing

[Aspiring Astronomer]

This kind of science completely fascinates me! I am currently a sophomore in high school and am completely in love with Astronomy! Any suggestions for colleges that have great Astronomy programs, where I can eventually earn a PhD?

Re:Amazing

[Anonymous Coward]

I am not an astronomer, but I am an academic in the hard sciences. My advice:

If your goal is academics, you should know that it is fairly uncommon to get a bachelors, masters, and Ph.D. all at the same school. It's not impossible or anything, but it is rare for whatever reason. Some people even frown upon it. So... focus on your undergrad first. Get your solid fundamentals down. Find a school that has a long-running program for undergraduates in astronomy or astrophysics. This will probably overlap with an well-established graduate program, even if not a top tier one. Get to know your professors. Really. Volunteer to do grunt work for their research. You will a) get incredibly valuable experience and (presumably) good referral letters for when you go to graduate school, and b) you will get to see what research in the field is actually like (usually less than glamorous), and make an informed decision if it is the right career for you before you rush out to be a poorly paid grad student somewhere.

You will also get an inside scoop on who is doing interesting research that you could potentially be a part of. That is, when it is time to apply for graduate school, you will know professors who can make recommendations about other schools/professors that will have the most interesting research and potential funding dollars. If the stars align just right (pun intended) and you really gel with a particular professor that has some extra funding, you might be able to stay on as a graduate student at the same institution.

Keep in mind also that WHO you worked for when you get your Ph.D. matters at least as much as WHERE. There are some really very smart and well-known people that might not be at the #1 school out there. If you work for them as a graduate student, people in the field will see that and respect it more than an institution name. And you will have to work with this person for four+ years, so personality is also important. Try to meet face-to-face before you make any decisions, because a bad working environment can really make your life miserable, especially when someone you don't get along with very well has so much control over your professional future. Talk to other graduate students and try to find out as much as possible about what working for Prof. $NAME is like. It's a bit down the road in your case, but I hope you remember it if you do indeed go this route.

Good luck!

Re:Amazing

[Aspiring Astronomer]

Thank you! This was very helpful!

Cyanide?

[Irate Engineer]

These complex organic molecules, two forms of cyanide and one chemically related compound..

Doesn't sound very hospitable. Was this found on planet Zyklon B or something?

Earn the right to vote

[bugs2squash]

This is clearly a bug asteroid. It's your duty to sign up into the Mobile infantry immediately.

What was actually found

[Crashmarik]

hydrogen cyanide (HCN): occurs everywhere (not the least of which is your cars tailpipe), all you need is the elements and hea
methyl cyanide (CH3CN), once again occurs everywhere, all you need are the elements plus oxygen helps
cyanoacetylene (HC3N) Not familiar with this but be willing to bet you can get it by just applying heat again.

idiotic

[samantha]

An "organic molecule" is no different from any other molecule nature brews up. It just happens to be one of the types of molecules found in living things on earth. So what? The same processes are at work throughout the universe to create basic elements and the conditions for various types of molecules to form from them are not earth-special or this solar system special. This has been known for a very very long time. This is completely not news.

Re:idiotic

[Anonymous Coward]

It's different in that it's a precursor to RNA if one, say, had water and some sort of comet-crashing event. But what are the odds of having that with a bunch of the compounds floating around on comets, right?.

  Read the FA, guy

Re:idiotic

[Livius]

Past a certain complexity, it would be interesting and noteworthy, but merely 'organic' is going to include almost everything if the concentration of carbon is high enough.

Re:idiotic

[Jason Levine]

The fact that we can detect organic molecules circling a star (not our Sun) is amazing. As our detection capabilities improve, I wonder how long until we detect complex organic molecules or life itself.

Re:idiotic

[gstoddart]

This has been known for a very very long time. This is completely not news.

Bullshit.

What the team has seen, however, are the chemical signs of three complex organic molecules in the cyanide family--an astronomical first, Oberg says. Although astronomers have spotted hydrogen cyanide in other star systems, the two more complicated chemical relatives detected in this study have never been seen in a protoplanetary disk.

While this matches with previous observations and predictions, this is, in fact, some actual new science which confirms stuff,and which certainly is news.

Know what is idiotic? Dismissing actual new results on the basis that you heard something similar a bunch of years ago.

What was your scientific breakthrough today?

No sir. Not idiotic.

[mmell]

I'll grant you - it's not unlike "We've confirmed what most people might assume, that similar circumstances lead to similar results", but this lets us start discarding that word 'assume'. Also, please consider: if similar chemistries evolve due to similar conditions, it seems likely to me that we will find life as we know it. We won't have to waste time looking for Andromeda particles or talking to rocks looking for silicon-based life or even negotiating with the Tholiads or the friggin' LED's of Zetar, it'll be life that looks (more or less) familiar.

Re:No Kidding..

[rubycodez]

No, we thus far have not one shred of evidence for life on any world but Earth, nor have organic substances any more complicated than isopropyl cyanide been detected in interstellar space

How close to life is this?

[kazekirifx]

Astronomers have detected chemical precursors of building blocks of the components needed to construct the conditions required to make the environment necessary to gather the required elemental components of life.