Scientists recreate life's building block in space-like conditions
What's the story
Astrochemist Ryan Fortenberry from the University of Mississippi and Ralf Kaiser of the University of Hawaii at Manoa, have made a groundbreaking discovery linked to the origins of life. Their research, published recently in Physics News, involves synthesizing glyceric acid under space-like conditions. Glyceric acid is a simple sugar acid deemed essential to life and is integral to Earth's living organisms' metabolism.
Acid properties
Glyceric acid: A taste of life's origin
Glyceric acid, one of the simplest sugar acids, is unique in that it can taste sweet or sour depending on its state. This property prompted Fortenberry to ask an interesting question about the cosmos: "Is space sweet or sour?" He went on to elaborate that the synthesis of this molecule helps bridge a major gap in our understanding of life's origin.
Information gap
Bridging the gap between prebiotic chemistry and biochemistry
The synthesis of glyceric acid under space-like conditions has major implications for our understanding of life's origin. It helps bridge the gap between small molecules studied in prebiotic chemistry, and large molecules that can contain up to 4,000 atoms. "Within astrochemistry, there's a big disconnect between what we call prebiotic chemistry and biochemistry," Fortenberry said.
Molecule synthesis
Glyceric acid: A key to life's origin puzzle
The finding that glyceric acid can form in space is a major step toward understanding how life originated on Earth. If this molecule can be synthesized in gas clouds such as Sagittarius B2, it means the molecules that are crucial for life could be more common in space than we thought. Kaiser said, "Understanding how these molecules form in space is crucial for unraveling the mysteries of life's origins."