29 August 2016
Dust is the key to producing complex organic molecules in space
... can react with another sugar, propenal, to produce ribose. Ribose is an important component of nucleotides, and is found in ribonucleic acid (RNA). This molecule along with its cousin ethylene glycol (CH2OH)2, the simplest sugar alcohol, have both...
06 March 2020
Life in the Universe could be common, but not near us says study
... is one ingredient which scientists agree could be of use in helping to pinpoint these answers; ribonucleic acid, or RNA. The simpler, single-stranded RNA molecule, which is used in key metabolic processes for all steps of protein synthesis in all...
03 August 2018
Plate tectonics not needed for life, but UV light is
... hydrogen cyanide – a colourless, extremely poisonous and flammable acid that is used for fumigation, in the manufacture of plastics...from these interactions generated the building blocks of ribonucleic acid (RNA) which is present in all living cells. ...
February 2022
Extremophiles as a blueprint for universal life
... life on Earth resulted as a consequence of evolutionary chemical biology, driven by competing ideas ranging from protein, ribonucleic acid (RNA), metabolism, and lipid-driven origins. Panspermia has taken a ‘back seat’, though the idea of directed...
09 June 2017
Key ingredients to life found around Sun-like stars
... discovered the simple sugar glycolaldehyde - a highly reactive compound that can help form ribose, a central constituent of ribonucleic acid (RNA). Add this to the right mix of conditions, which in the case of IRAS 16293-2422 is a trio of protostars...
