[CyberAnt]

Well .. of course! The person who created the universe also created the humans to inhabit it. Works for me!

[Junior]

Prediction: The Luddites will ignore this thread like the plague.

[<1/1,000,000th%]

Allamandola reiterated, "The spell is now breaking that interstellar chemistry is only a chemistry of relatively small and simple molecules. Twenty years ago the notion of abundant, gas phase, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons anywhere in interstellar space was considered impossible. Now we know better.

PANHs/PAHs dwarf all other known interstellar molecules in size and, as a class, they are more abundant than all other known interstellar polyatomic molecules combined. We are only seeing the tip of the iceberg in terms of extraterrestrial molecular complexity. Spitzer has detected the PAH IR signature across the Universe, even back to only a few billion years after the Big Bang. When the Universe is looked at through PAH filtered glasses (Figure 3) it is clear that PAHs are indeed everywhere and we live in a molecular Universe."

Dark matter??? /sarcasm

[tet68]

So even in death, the seeds of life are sewn," Allamandola said.

He's got me in stitches.
Life the tread of the universe.

Et in Arcadia Ego.

[StJacques]

". . . 'Most people will take notice of their possible role in the origin of life, the point in our history when chemistry became biology, but there are other serious implications as well' . . ."

This should be corrected to read "most sensible people."

I have little doubt that there are legions of "flat-earthers" who will decry the very possibility.

[BenLurkin]

Water, the right amount of gravity, oxygen/nitrogen atmosphere with right amount of atmospheric pressure, and a magnetic belt to protect from solar radiation.

Without these things, space (and that is almost all of it) is a VERY grim place.

[TalBlack]

"So even in death, the seeds of life are sewn," Allamandola said."


He said one thing, Reporter person, and YOU wrote another!

[AdmSmith]

Life's Building Blocks Are Common In Space

- cool

[adam_az]

Absolute must read for you!

[GreenHornet]

Life's Building Blocks Are Common In Space

They have Legos on other planets?

[Liberal Classic]

Cool article. Here's another about on the general subject of interstellar chemistry from the American Chemical Society. It's hosted at the Ohio State phyisics department's website.

[Continental Soldier]

"Organic chemicals are common in space." Oh, dear. Is there anyone big enough to actually slap all of NASA's face? Enough of the obvious already! Start earning your keep!!

[AndrewC]

PAHs, large, flat, chicken-wire shaped molecules made up of hydrogen and carbon are extremely stable and can withstand the hostile radiation environment of interstellar space.

You know what that means?

[Rightwing Conspiratr1]

Waiting to hear how life is created from PAHs. Should be easy enough to put a bunch of these PAHs together and watch them mate.