All cells on Earth are made of phosphorescent membranes. right Now It was possible to observe phospholipid molecules in space. This discovery is another evidence supporting the hypothesis that life appeared on Earth thanks to components from outer space.
Life appeared on Earth about 4.4 billion years ago, just a few hundred years after the formation of the solar system. So the question is, how did it come about so quickly from the complex molecules necessary for the existence of life? One possible answer is: These molecules are already in outer space and from there they came to Earth.
To date, protein precursors have been observed in space – amino acids or precursors of ribonucleotides that make up DNA. Now it turns out that there are also phospholipids in space.
Victor Rivilla and colleagues from the Spanish Center for Astrobiology in Madrid report the discovery in space of ethanolamine, an important component of the simplest phospholipids. This is of great importance not only for theories about the origin of life on Earth, but also for other planets and their satellites in the Universe.Finders say.
The molecule was observed when analyzing light from the interstellar molecular cloud Sagittarius B2, which is only 390 light-years away from the center of the Milky Way. Scientists have long known that it is an area rich in organic molecules.
The Spaniards first simulated the spectrum of light that should give off ethanolamine at the low temperatures present in the cloud under study. Then they looked at arc B2 and actually found the right spectra for them.
Previously, ethanolamine was found on meteorites. It is believed that it may have arisen on them as a result of unusual reactions that occurred on the asteroid from which the meteorite arose. It now turns out that this molecule is much more ubiquitous than previously thought.
Rivella and his team believe that ethanolamine may have been present in the nebula from which the solar system formed and from there made its way to Earth.
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