“Origins” –Cosmic Molecules Foreshadow Earthly RNA & DNA

rho Ophiuchi star region


Detecting pre-biotic molecules in solar-type protostars enhances our understanding of how the solar system formed as it indicates that planets created around the star could begin their existence with a supply of the chemical ingredients needed to make some form of life. This warm and dense region contains young stars at the earliest stage of their evolution surrounded by a cocoon of dust and gas—similar conditions to those when our Solar System formed.