Many planets may contain the seeds of life.

    Astronomers have discovered the building block of RNA (ribonucleic acid), within the hot, compact core of massive star formation, as part of the Milky Way. Over the past decade, scientists have been able to detect organic molecules inside meteorites and even in outer space, but their connection with life is unlikely, because these substances were not found in clouds of dust and gas around new stars that can form planets.

    Using an array of IRAM radio plates (Institut de Radio Astronomie Millimetrique) in France, a team of European astronomers was able to detect a substance called glycolaldehyde, a simple sugar, an RNA component located within a compact nucleus formed from a gas and dust disk, in the star-forming region G31 .41 + 0.31, which is located at a distance of 26,000 light years from our planet.

    A sugar molecule could be formed as a result of a simple reaction between carbon monoxide molecules and dust particles. The discovery is significant for two reasons. Firstly, G31.41 + 0.31 is located far from radiation in the center of the Milky Way, therefore, if any biological processes could begin there, they will have a chance to continue. Secondly, the abundance of glycolaldehyde in the clouds G31.41 + 0.31 indicates its nonuniqueness for this region. The point is that if the process of star nucleation and planet formation takes place, then the process of arranging organic compounds can also occur.

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