Building blocks of life found in distant star system suggest origins in interstellar space

Building blocks of life found in distant star system suggest origins in interstellar space
by Robert Schreiber
Berlin, Germany (SPX) Jul 25, 2025

Using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), a team led by Abubakar Fadul from the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy (MPIA) has detected 17 complex organic molecules in the protoplanetary disc of the protostar V883 Orionis. Among them are ethylene glycol and glycolonitrile-molecules regarded as precursors to amino acids and nucleobases-marking their first tentative detection in such an environment.

These findings point to a growing complexity of organic chemistry as systems evolve from cold interstellar clouds to mature planetary systems. The results challenge earlier theories suggesting that star formation destroys pre-existing organic material, requiring a chemical reset during planet formation.

"Now it appears the opposite is true," said MPIA scientist Kamber Schwarz. "Our results suggest that protoplanetary discs inherit complex molecules from earlier stages, and the formation of complex molecules can continue during the protoplanetary disc stage."

Glycolonitrile, one of the molecules detected, can lead to the formation of glycine, alanine, and adenine. These discoveries indicate that prebiotic chemistry may begin much earlier in a star system's history than previously believed.

The V883 Orionis system offered a unique opportunity. The growing star periodically emits bursts of radiation, heating its surrounding disc and evaporating icy grains, thereby releasing buried molecules into space. This process mimics how comets in the Solar System produce gas and dust tails under solar heating.

"Complex molecules, including ethylene glycol and glycolonitrile, radiate at radio frequencies. ALMA is perfectly suited to detect those signals," Schwarz noted. The observatory's precision enabled researchers to isolate faint spectral emissions linked to these compounds.

Tushar Suhasaria, head of MPIA's Origins of Life Lab, added, "We recently found ethylene glycol could form by UV irradiation of ethanolamine, a molecule that was recently discovered in space. This supports its formation in both early and later cosmic environments."

Although the detection is promising, the team notes that further observations are needed to confirm the signals and potentially uncover even more complex molecules. "Higher resolution data will confirm the detections... and maybe even reveal more complex chemicals we simply haven't identified yet," Schwarz said.

Research Report:A deep search for Ethylene Glycol and Glycolonitrile in V883 Ori Protoplanetary Disk