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The Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array has observed stars like the sun at a very early stage in their formation and found traces of methyl isocyanate--a chemical building block of life. This is the first ever detection of this prebiotic molecule towards a solar-type protostar, the sort from which our solar system evolved.
The discovery could help astronomers understand how life arose on Earth. This artist's impression gives a very close-up view of what these molecules look like.Image credit: ESO/L. Calçada
