Astrochemistry

Molecular Cloud Biology

By Keith Cowing
Status Report
physics.pop-ph
March 5, 2025
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Molecular Cloud Biology
Protostellar Envelope and Jet: IRAS 16253-2429 – A young protostar and its signature outflow peeks out through a shroud of dust in this infrared image from NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope. Stars are known to form from collapsing clumps of gas and dust, or envelopes, seen here around a forming star system as a dark blob, or shadow, against a dusty background. The greenish color shows jets coming away from the young star within. The envelope is roughly 100 times the size of our solar system. Astronomers believe that the irregular shape of the envelope, revealed in detail by Spitzer, might have triggered the formation of twin, or binary stars in this system. Infrared light with a wavelength of 3.6 microns has been color-coded blue; 4.5-micron light is green; and 8.0-micron light is red. larger imagery — NASA

Some astrobiological models suggest that molecular clouds may serve as habitats for extraterrestrial life.

This study reviews recent theoretical work addressing the physical and biochemical prerequisites for life in such environments, with particular focus on three subjects:

(1) bioenergetic pathways under extreme low-temperature conditions;
(2) the emergence and preservation of biomolecular chirality; and
(3) detection methodologies for potential biosignatures.

The equivalent width of the absorption dips of CH4, CO2 from JWST MIRI/IFU observation [31]. — physics.pop-ph

In this paper, we formally introduce the molecular cloud biology concept, which integrates all physicochemical and metabolic processes hypothesized to sustain life within molecular clouds. As a potential branch of astrobiology, molecular cloud biology warrants interdisciplinary collaborative research to validate its foundational assumptions and explore its scientific implications.

Lei Feng

Comments: 15 pages, 4 figures
Subjects: Popular Physics (physics.pop-ph); Earth and Planetary Astrophysics (astro-ph.EP); Solar and Stellar Astrophysics (astro-ph.SR)
Cite as: arXiv:2502.16615 [physics.pop-ph] (or arXiv:2502.16615v1 [physics.pop-ph] for this version)
https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2502.16615
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Submission history
From: Lei Feng
[v1] Sun, 23 Feb 2025 15:37:45 UTC (7,187 KB)
https://arxiv.org/abs/2502.16615
Astrobiology,

Keith Cowing

Explorers Club Fellow, ex-NASA Space Station Payload manager/space biologist, Away Teams, Journalist, Lapsed climber, Synaesthete, Na’Vi-Jedi-Freman-Buddhist-mix, ASL, Devon Island and Everest Base Camp veteran, (he/him) 🖖🏻

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