In the past few years, molecular discovery in space has made tremendous progress in terms of both the number of identified molecules and their complexity.
organic chemistry
Posted inBiochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Nanotechnology & SynBio, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release
How Life Appeared: Rise Of The Nanomachines
Molecular assembly can be designed by fusing binding domains. A precise optimization of the level of compaction of the assembly using linker of different lengths or compositions can provide a […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biophysics, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Habitable Zones, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release
Deep Space Chemical Reactions Unveil Secrets Of Earth’s Life Origins
Ices on interstellar nanoparticles and on comets, and the molecules they carry, may have played a much bigger role in starting life on Earth than originally thought, according to University […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report
Signatures Of X-ray Dominated Chemistry In The Spectra Of Exoplanetary Atmospheres
High-energy radiation from stars impacts planetary atmospheres deeply affecting their chemistry, providing departures from chemical equilibrium.
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Astronomy & Telescopes, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report
An ALMA Molecular Inventory Of Warm Herbig Ae Disks: II. Abundant Complex Organics And Volatile Sulphur In The IRS 48 disk
The Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) can probe the molecular content of planet-forming disks with unprecedented sensitivity.
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Callisto, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Jupiter, Status Report
Revealing Callisto’s Carbon-rich Surface And CO2 Atmosphere With JWST
We analyzed spectral cubes of Callisto’s leading and trailing hemispheres, collected with the NIRSpec Integrated Field Unit (G395H) on the James Webb Space Telescope.
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astronomy & Telescopes, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Interstellar, Status Report
Study Of The HCCNC And HNCCC Isotopologs In TMC-1
We present the detection of the three 13C isotopologs of HCCNC and HNCCC toward TMC-1 using the QUIJOTE line survey. In addition, the D species has also been detected for […]
![A) Alanine synthesis using a Strecker mechanism, where the wiggly bonds indicate indeterminate stereochemistry. (B) Illustrating a calcium-promoted step on the reaction pathway where a PNC effect from Ca2+ could influence chiral preference at the Cα carbon (highlighted by circling in dashed blue). (C) An example of an Ala-bound calcium complex in a metal-mediated autocatalytic pathway, where L and L′ could be water, a bifurcating carboxylate from another amino acid [5], or other ligands. -- Life](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Influence-of-the.png?resize=1200%2C900&ssl=1)
Posted inAstrochemistry, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Origin & Evolution of Life, Status Report
Influence of the Weak Nuclear Force on Metal-Promoted Autocatalytic Strecker Synthesis of Amino Acids: Formation of a Chiral Pool of Precursors for Prebiotic Peptide and Protein Synthesis
Natural chiral amino acids typically adopt an L structural configuration. While a preference for specific molecular chiralities is observed throughout biology and cellular chemistry, the origins of this preference are […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Comets and Asteroids, Meteorites & Asteroids, Origin & Evolution of Life, Status Report
Gamma-Ray-Induced Amino Acid Formation During Aqueous Alteration in Small Bodies: The Effects of Compositions of Starting Solutions
Organic compounds, such as amino acids, are essential for the origin of life, and they may have been delivered to the prebiotic Earth from extra-terrestrial sources, such as carbonaceous chondrites.
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Comets and Asteroids, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Interstellar, Meteorites & Asteroids, Status Report
Investigating Organic Carbon and Thermal History of CM Carbonaceous Chondrites Using Spectroscopy and Laboratory Techniques
The CM chondrites are characterized as primary accretionary rocks which originate from primitive water-rich asteroids formed during the early Solar System.