Scientists Discover Building Blocks Of Life In Ice Around Forming Star In Neighboring Galaxy

Using the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) and its Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI), researchers detected organic molecules containing more than six atoms, frozen in the ice surrounding a young protostar (a star in formation) in the Large Magellanic Cloud, the nearest neighbouring galaxy to our Milky Way.

The team identified five types of complex organic molecules (COMs) in the ice around the young star ST6, many of which are also found on Earth: methanol and ethanol (types of alcohol), methyl formate and acetaldehyde (chemicals also used in industry), and acetic acid (the main component of vinegar). This is the first time acetic acid has been convincingly observed in space ice. The other three molecules have also never been found in ice outside the Milky Way.

Building blocks of life in the early universe

According to Rocha, such complex molecules can form in both gas and ice on tiny dust grains in space. 'After their formation, icy COMs can be released into the gas phase,' Rocha explains. 'Our observations confirm what laboratory experiments and models have long predicted: chemical reactions on dust grains are a major source of these molecules.' Because this young star exists in an environment resembling the early universe, the discovery suggests that the building blocks of life could have formed much earlier - and in more places - than previously thought.

Thanks to the James Webb Space Telescope

'Only thanks to JWST's exceptional sensitivity and resolution can we detect such faint signals from ice around a distant star,' says Marta Sewilo of the University of Maryland and NASA, who led the research. 'Before JWST, we could only convincingly detect methanol in ice around protostars - even within our own Milky Way. Now, we can extract more information from a single spectrum than ever before.'