Welcome to this edition of The Intelligence Brief… This week, a team of astronomers using the ALMA telescope has made a landmark discovery in the search for life’s origins, detecting complex organic molecules—including ethylene glycol and glycolonitrile—in the disc of the young star V883 Orionis. In our analysis, we’ll explore 1) how this discovery strengthens the case that life’s chemical precursors form in space and not just on planets, 2) how it challenges the long-standing “reset” theory about molecular destruction during star formation, 3) why this find offers key insights into the transition from interstellar clouds to mature planetary systems, and 4) how continued observations with ALMA and future telescopes could reveal even more about the cosmic seeds of life.

Quote of the Week

“Who knows what else we might discover?”

– Abubakar Fadul, Max Planck Institute for Astronomy

RECENT NEWS from The Debrief

A Discovery Sheds Light on the Cosmic Origins of Life

The quest to understand the origins of life has long remained a focus for scientists. Questions include whether such processes involve fundamental components from space that gradually take shape into life on potentially habitable planets, and what processes give rise to this.

Now, groundbreaking new findings by astronomers using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) have detected complex organic molecules in the protoplanetary disc around the protostar V883 Orionis. These include detections of ethylene glycol and glycolonitrile, which are considered chemical precursors to the building blocks of life.

In short, this points to the idea that the “seeds of life” are assembled in space, and not only that, but that they also appear to have a wide distribution throughout the cosmos.

The research, led by Abubakar Fadul of the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy (MPIA), suggests that as the complexity of molecular formation increases across cosmic environments, from “stellar nurseries” to ancient, mature planetary systems. So what does it mean for the search for life if its fundamental ingredients are assembled in space?

A New Clue in the Search for the “Seeds of Life”

This isn’t the first time complex organic molecules (COMs) have been found in star- and planet-forming regions. However, Fadul and his team’s discovery is notable for both its molecular diversity and the implications it carries.

COMs are carbon-containing molecules made up of more than five atoms, some of which are considered essential for life here on Earth, which amino acids and nucleic acids, or their chemical precursors.

In Fadul and the team’s new research, a total of seventeen different COMs were detected in the V883 Orionis disc, which include glycolonitrile—a precursor to glycine, alanine, and adenine—as well as ethylene glycol, which is linked to sugar chemistry. These discoveries provide astrophysicists with a new perspective on the processes underlying the evolution of molecular complexity, from the earliest stages of star formation to the period when a planetary system has already formed.

Fadul likens this to “a straight line of chemical enrichment and increasing complexity between interstellar clouds and fully evolved planetary systems.”

Challenging the ‘Reset’ Theory

The team’s findings also challenge current theories regarding the transition from a cold protostar to a fully ignited young star, a turbulent period marked by intense radiation, energetic gas ejections, and shock waves that were previously believed to destroy earlier-formed complex molecules.

To account for this, past research had suggested a “reset” scenario in which the building blocks of life likely have to reform later in protoplanetary discs as planets, asteroids, and comets begin to take shape. However, observations of V883 Orionis now challenge that view.

“Now it appears the opposite is true,” said Kamber Schwarz, co-author of a paper detailing the team’s research. “Our results suggest that protoplanetary discs inherit complex molecules from earlier stages, and the formation of complex molecules can continue during the protoplanetary disc stage.”

Since the window that occurs between the protostellar phase and the stabilization of a protoplanetary disc is relatively brief, the team says the presence of these molecules in quantities that astronomers can detect strongly suggests that complex chemistry not only survives but also might thrive during this transitional period.

Prebiotic Chemistry Across the Cosmos

The presence of organic molecules, such as methanol, has been detected in dense molecular clouds prior to the onset of star formation. While these molecules are fairly simple, under the right conditions, more complex compounds, such as ethylene glycol, might also be produced.

Tushar Suhasaria, head of MPIA’s Origins of Life Lab and one of the study’s co-authors, said that ethylene glycol was recently discovered to “form by UV irradiation of ethanolamine, a molecule that was recently discovered in space.”

“This finding supports the idea that ethylene glycol could form in those environments but also in later stages of molecular evolution, where UV irradiation is dominant.”

Other critical biomolecules—such as amino acids, sugars, and nucleobases found in DNA and RNA—have been detected in meteorites, asteroids, and comets in our own Solar System. These discoveries continue to blur the line between chemistry and biology in the cosmic context.

Seeds of Life Buried in Ice, Released by Stellar Heat

Generally, the synthesis of complex molecules occurs in extremely cold environments, such as on the surface of frozen dust grains that eventually coalesce and form larger bodies. Unless they are exposed to heat at a later time or accessed by probes, these molecules usually remain undetectable.

It is possible that a process similar to what occurs when a comet in our solar system heats up as it approaches the Sun is happening in the V883 Orionis system. Right now, the young star is still growing by drawing in gas from its disc, and as it enters periods of accelerated growth, intense bursts of radiation can be emitted, which provide enough heat to warm even the iciest outer regions of its disc.

“These outbursts are strong enough to heat the surrounding disc as far as otherwise icy environments, releasing the chemicals we have detected,” Fadul explained.

Further Challenges Ahead

“While this result is exciting, we still haven’t disentangled all the signatures we found in our spectra,” says Schwarz. “Higher resolution data will confirm the detections of ethylene glycol and glycolonitrile and maybe even reveal more complex chemicals we simply haven’t identified yet.”

The team’s findings, published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters, represent a significant step in understanding how prebiotic chemistry emerges in young solar systems. However, Fadul notes that future searches could reveal even more intriguing discoveries.

“Perhaps we also need to look at other regions of the electromagnetic spectrum to find even more evolved molecules,” Fadul adds.

“Who knows what else we might discover?”

That concludes this week’s installment of The Intelligence Brief. You can read past editions of our newsletter at our website, or if you found this installment online, don’t forget to subscribe and get future email editions from us here. Also, if you have a tip or other information you’d like to send along directly to me, you can email me at micah [@] thedebrief [dot] org, or reach me on X: @MicahHanks.

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