Have either amino acids or nucleic acids been detected in interstellar space?

Well..five amino acids were discovered in the Murchison Meteorite which fell in 1969. The interstellar medium also contains clouds in which formaldehyde and hydrogen cyanide have been detected in great abundances. These can be chemically combined upon the surfaces of interstellar dust grains to form amino acids as well as many other very complex molecules which have now been detected including various alcohols and other organic compounds rich in carbon, oxygen and hydrogen atoms as well as nitrogen. A specific reference to a radio detection of a bonefide amino acid escapes me at this time, but I know that there have been searches for the four basic components of DNA, with no positive results to date.


Copyright 1997 Dr. Sten Odenwald
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