Hints that Prebiotic Chemistry Is Universal

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Hints that Prebiotic Chemistry Is Universal

Illustration of a protoplanetary disk around a young star MWC 480, with molecules in the foreground.

Artist impression of the protoplanetary disk surrounding the young star MWC 480. ALMA has detected the complex organic molecule methyl cyanide in the outer reaches of the disk in the region where comets are believed to form. This is another indication that complex organic chemistry, and potentially the conditions necessary for life, is universal.

Credit: Bill Saxton (NRAO/AUI/NSF)

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Astrochemistry Protoplanetary Disks

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Hints that Prebiotic Chemistry Is Universal

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