Organic Molecules Discovered in Interstellar Space

a reply to: jeep3r

The detection of interstellar molecules that are 'branching out' strongly suggests that amino-acids will also be found very soon (throughout the universe) simply because they have the same kind of 'branching' characteristics.

Actually amino acids have been found in space.
physicsworld.com...
www.newscientist.com...
news.discovery.com...

a reply to: Phage

Yes, and even sugars. Link.

Old news. Every once in a while, someone tries to grab the headlines with this, because the majority of people are not tuned in to it, and they know it. The solar system is teaming with the basic building blocks of life, and it has been known by science for a long time. Read up on carbonaceous chondrites.

originally posted by: Phage
a reply to: jeep3r

Actually amino acids have been found in space.
physicsworld.com...
www.newscientist.com...
news.discovery.com...

Hmmmm ... there seems to be a contradiction between the current paper and any earlier evidence (except for amino acids in comets, I guess). The related article published by the Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy says:

(...) Although no interstellar amino acids have yet been found, interstellar chemistry may be responsible for the production of a wide range of important complex molecules that eventually find their way to planetary surfaces.

Source

It's strange that your first source (dating back to 2003) also mentions the discovery of interstellar amino acids. One would think that the peer-reviewing process should have revealed any missing links to earlier evidence and research. Or maybe I'm just missing something here ...

a reply to: jeep3r
The peer review process doesn't really involve statements made in interviews. I'm sure that the scientists from Plank are aware of the 2003 discovery. They are probably aware that the discovery was not unambiguous...glycine is not a good candidate for positive identification. This doesn't mean that glycine was not found but it does mean that it may be something else.
ntrs.nasa.gov...