Amino acid found in deep space

New Scientist ^ | 10:57 18 July 02 | Rachel Nowak

[nuda_veritas]

10:57 18 July 02
Exclusive from New Scientist Print Edition
An amino acid, one of the building blocks of life, has been spotted in deep space. If the find stands up to scrutiny, it means that the sorts of chemistry needed to create life are not unique to Earth verifying one of astrobiology's cherished theories. This would add weight to ideas that life exists on other planets, and even that molecules from outer space kick-started life on Earth. Over 130 molecules have been identified in interstellar space so far, including sugars and ethanol. But amino acids are a particularly important find because they link up to form proteins, the molecules that run, and to a large extent make up our cells. Back in 1994, a team led by astronomer Lewis Snyder of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign announced preliminary evidence of the simplest type of amino acid, glycine, but the finding did not stand up to closer examination (New Scientist magazine, 11 June 1994, p 4). Now Snyder and Yi-Jehng Kuan of the National Taiwan Normal University say they really have found glycine. "We're more confident [this time]," says Kuan. "We have strong evidence that glycine exists in interstellar space." Huge blobs The researchers monitored radio waves for the spectral lines characteristic of glycine. They studied emissions from more locations than before - giant molecular clouds, huge blobs of gas and dust grains. They have also identified 10 spectral lines at each location that correspond to the lines created by glycine in the lab; before they had just two. The discovery of glycine supports recent lab-based simulations of deep space, which show that ices containing simple organic matter could form. When researchers bathe those ices in ultraviolet light, amino acids are created. "Glycine is the holy grail," says Jill Tarter, director of the Centre for SETI Research at the SETI Institute in Mountain View. "Let's hope they've got it this time."
Rachel Nowak
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[Physicist]

This thread temporarily vanished because the person who posted it was a returning banned freeper.

Let me guess: Mark War?

[Physicist]

I don't know. But since at most one of the world's religions can be true, I can tell you that if there is a hell, it's overflowing with the pious and faithful.

[Doctor Stochastic]

Perhaps you could post where the the lack of amino acids in the Murchison meteorite was published. A link to a refereed journal article would be sufficient.

[longshadow]

thanx for pinging me to this the Phoenix-like thread....

[longshadow]

Since this article had quite a few comments and interest, I have restored it.

Thank you.

[Consort]

Nothing is unique to Earth.

[Physicist]

Nothing is unique to Earth.

There's another Bill Clinton out there? Say it ain't so!

[MEGoody]

So they make the claim they found amino acids by listening to radio waves? Can someone explain this to me? How do they know what 'sound' amino acids make when they are in space? How do they know it's not something else? It would be very cool to find out there is life on other planets, but this sounds a bit far fetched.

[general_re]

There's another Bill Clinton out there? Say it ain't so!

"Hi! Remember us?"

:^)

[MEGoody]

"Everybody knows that science and religion are irreconcilable."

LOL They seem quite reconciled to me. Perhaps the reconciliation process has to do with a few things, such as whether the individual reconciling has an anti-supernatural bias or whether someone choses to classify assumptions as 'science'.

[Consort]

The existence of Bill Clinton supports the theory of an Imperfect God.

[Pagey]

The existence of Bill Clinton supports the theory of an Imperfect God.

' The existence of Bill Clinton' also supports the theory that the Devil is Alive and Well on planet Earth too.

[Physicist]

So they make the claim they found amino acids by listening to radio waves? Can someone explain this to me? How do they know what 'sound' amino acids make when they are in space? How do they know it's not something else?

All molecules absorb and emit radiation. Energy can be stored in a molecule in a number of ways: for example, an electron in the molecule might get kicked in to an excited state, or the molecule might start to vibrate in a certain way, or it may start to rotate. The surprising thing is that all of these energy levels are quantized, meaning that for any of these modes, the molecule will only absorb (and emit) photons of a specific series of energies. These energies are called "spectral lines".

For any given type of molecule, we can determine exactly what the freqencies are for its spectral lines (and their relative intensities). If we want to find that type of molecule in a distant source, we need only look for its spectral lines in the light coming from the object. (Usually you would look for absorption lines that are created as the light of a background star shines through a foreground molecular cloud.) While it is possible that some other molecule might have a spectral line that overlaps one you are looking for, it won't fool you if you examine enough lines. No two molecules share exactly the same series of spectral lines; it's rather like a fingerprint.

In this case the interesting spectral lines are in the radio bands, but this sort of analysis can also work with visible light. On a clear night, see whether you can find the planet Mars. To your naked eye, Mars will appear reddish. The redness is from the presence of iron oxide.

[SGCOS]

...Amino acid found in deep space...

Cool man, far out. This Brown Dot is getting old...

[PatrickHenry]

Lost thread placemarker.

[AndrewC]

This comes pretty close to being abusive on this site. You are lucky I am in a good mood(was in a good mood). This "Hinds 57" souse needs to be forgotten.

Just joking of course.. :^)

[Scully]

"Ah, me? No! Ah said, I never inhale!"

Sheesh! I need to get a life. Back to my thesis now...

[general_re]

Consider it fair warning. If nothing in this universe is unique, then somewhere out there is a veritable army of Klinton Klones. Waiting...plotting...planning their next move. And who will be our Yoda in our time of need, I ask.

Oh, ya got trouble...trouble with a capital "T" that rhymes with "B" that stands for "Bill"...

[gore3000]

Perhaps you could post where the the lack of amino acids in the Murchison meteorite was published. A link to a refereed journal article would be sufficient.

No need to waste time looking. If they had been found in a meteorite, we would not still be looking for amino acids in space. BTW - this guy was already disproven once by his fellow scientists. This new study has not been examined yet. It is worthless until it is. However, like the meteorites, I am sure it will be disproven quietly.

[Doctor Stochastic]

Then, lacking evidence, why did you claim that there were no amino acide in the Murchison meteorite? Do you usually make claims without such evidence? If you are unwilling to back your claims, why should anyone pay attention to your wildly elliptical posts?

Just because one finds amino acids in a meteorite, why do you believe that that precludes one from looking other places?