Science & Health
The discovery of a branched carbon molecule 27,000 light-years from Earth suggests the building blocks of life may be ubiquitous throughout the galaxy. The BBC reports:
Iso-propyl cyanide has been detected in a star-forming cloud 27,000 light-years from Earth. Its branched carbon structure is closer to the complex organic molecules of life than any previous finding from interstellar space.
The discovery suggests the building blocks of life may be widespread throughout our galaxy. Various organic molecules have previously been discovered in interstellar space, but i-propyl cyanide is the first with a branched carbon backbone.
The branched structure is important as it shows that interstellar space could be the origin of more complex branched molecules, such as amino acids, that are necessary for life on Earth.
Meanwhile, NASA is a giant step closer to launching Americans again from U.S. soil. The Miami Herald writes:
On Tuesday, the space agency announced it has picked Boeing and SpaceX to transport astronauts to the International Space Station in the next few years. NASA Administrator Charles Bolden named the winners of the competition at Kennedy Space Center, next door to where the launches should occur in a few years.
The deal will end NASA’s expensive reliance on Russia to ferry astronauts to the space station. NASA has set a goal of 2017 for the first launch under the program. Boeing, the veteran of the competitors, would assemble its crew capsules at Kennedy.
The new California-based SpaceX is already delivering supplies to the space station; its crew capsule is a version of its cargo carrier. NASA will pay the companies $6.8 billion – $4.2 billion to Boeing and $2.6 billion to SpaceX.
The third major contender, Sierra Nevada Corp., was developing a mini-shuttle in Colorado.
