[glock rocks]

COSAC worked as planned however and was able to “sniff” the comet’s rarified atmosphere to detect the first organic molecules. Research is underway to determine if the compounds are simple ones like methanol and ammonia or more complex ones like the amino acids.

Organic? How many carbon atoms are there in an ammonia molecule?

[SunkenCiv]

> ...ammonia (NH3), colourless, pungent gas composed of nitrogen and hydrogen. It is the simplest stable compound of these elements and serves as a starting material for the production of many commercially important nitrogen compounds. [ http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/20940/ammonia-NH3 ]

> In the sense of the ammonia molecule itself, no it is not an organic molecule, you must have C-H bonds to be considered organic. NH3 (ammonia) however is involved in organic chemistry as a reactant or product. Nitrogen is a vital component to life, NH3 can be produced by nitrogen fixing bacteria; part od the nitrogen cycle. This can then be taken up by plants to stimulate growth. Plants are taken up by animals including humans to help our growth. So yes ammonia is needed for life and in this biological sense it is ‘organic’. [ http://www.answers.com/Q/Is_ammonia_organic ]