III. Ecosmos: A Revolutionary Fertile, Habitable, Solar-Bioplanet, Incubator Lifescape

G. An Astrochemistry to Astrobiological Spontaneity

Wang, Jai, et al. Interstellar formation of glyceric acid, the simplest sugar.. Science Advances. March 24, 2024. University of Hawaii and University of Mississippi (Ryan Fortenberry) cite their sweet detection of this organic mainstay compound. As the quotes imply, once again nature’s astrochemistry seems to possess an innate spontaneity to form just what life needs for the long cellular ovogenesis to our late retrospect description.

Glyceric acid [HOCH2CH(OH)COOH] is a key molecule in biochemical metabolic processes such as glycolysis. Although linked to the origins of life and identified in carbonaceous meteorites, the mechanisms of its formation have remained elusive. Here, we report the first abiotic synthesis of racemic glyceric acid via the radical-radical reaction of the hydroxycarbonyl radical with 1,2-dihydroxyethyl radical in low-temperature carbon dioxide and ethylene glycol ices. This work reveals the key pathways for glyceric acid synthesis through nonequilibrium reactions from profuse precursor molecules, advancing our fundamental knowledge of the formation of key biorelevant organics—sugar acids—in deep space. (Abstract)

Here, we demonstrate the very first abiotic synthesis of 1 in low-temperature (5 K) carbon dioxide and ethylene glycol (HOCH2CH2OH, 16) ice mixtures. This was accomplished via the barrierless radical- radical eaction of the hydroxycarbonyl (HOĊO, 11) with the 1,2-dihydroxyethyl (HOĊHCH2OH, 17) radicals (Figs. 1 and 2). These model ices were exposed to energetic electrons mimicking secondary electrons generated in the track of galactic cosmic rays (GCRs) pene-trating ices in cold molecular clouds aged a few million years. (1)

Webb, Stephen. If the Universe is Teeming with Aliens-- Where is Everybody? New York: Copernicus Books, 2002. A wide ranging survey, appropriate to the subject, which considers 50 possible answers to Enrico Fermi’s famous question about extraterrestrial life. Webb’s own persuasion is that they are not there at all, earth life is unique. In a second 2015 edition next, the intense phase of global scientific discovery since 2002 appears to confirm this.

Wogan,, Nicholas, et al. Origin of Life Molecules in the Atmosphere after Big Impacts on the Early Earth. arXiv:2307.09761. University of Washington, NASA Ames and Eureka Scientific, Oakland researchers are able to discern a novel factor which may have influenced how vital precursors were able to appear under harsh conditions. Indeed it rained then in meteoric material rich in ferrous ingredients which modified the atmosphere in life’s favor. So it seems again that however harsh and barren these roiling surfaces were, this primordial era could yet provide a conducive milieu. See also Thompson, Will, et al. Comparing Complex Chemistry in Neighboring Hot Cores by Will Thompson, et at at 230709495 for a similar situation.

The origin of life on Earth would benefit from a prebiotic atmosphere that produced nitriles, like HCN, which enable ribonucleotide synthesis. However, geochemical evidence suggests that Hadean air was relatively oxidizing with negligible photochemical molecules. These paradoxes are resolved by iron-rich asteroid impacts that reduced the atmosphere. Here, we study impact-generated reductions using new time-dependent, coupled chemistry and climate models.. (Excerpt)

Yamagishi, Akihiko, et al. Astrobiology: From the Origins of Life to the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence. Singapore: Springer, 2019. The Japanese astroscientist editors, posted at the University of Toyko, Tohoku University and the Tokyo Institute of Technology, achieve a comprehensive volume for this field with 31 chapters from Prebiotic Complex Organic Molecules in Space to An RNA World, Eukaryotes and Photosynthesis, Formation of Planetary Systems, and onto the Evolution of Intelligence on Earth and Cosmolinguistics: The Emergence of Language-Like Communication on a Habitable Planet (Abstract below).

The emergence of human language is one of the biggest wonders in the universe. In this chapter, I define "a language-like communication system" and examine the components for the emergence of such a system, not only on Earth but in any habitable planet. Language is a way to transmit an infinite variety of meanings by combining a finite number of tokens based on a set of rules. Thus, it enables compositional semantics. At least three components are necessary: segmentation of context and behavior, the association between them, and the honesty of the emitted signals. I also discuss the possibility of "language as it could be" on other planets. (Cosmolinguistics, Kazuo Okanoya)

Yamamoto, Satoshi. Introduction to Astrochemistry: Chemical Evolution from Interstellar Clouds to Star and Planet Formation.. International: Springer, 2017. A University of Tokyo biophysicist provides a later 2010s comprehensive technical survey from Molecular Abundances and Diffuse Clouds to Star and Planet Forming Regions.

This important book describes the basic principles of astrochemistry — an interdisciplinary field combining astronomy, physics, and chemistry — with particular emphasis on its physical and chemical background. Chemical processes in diffuse clouds, dense quiescent molecular clouds, star-forming regions, and protoplanetary disks are discussed, along with molecular spectroscopy and observational techniques. These contents provide astronomers with a comprehensive understanding of how interstellar matter is evolved and brought into stars and planets, which is ultimately related to the origin of the solar system.

Yang, Shuming, et al. Catalytic Role of HI in the Interstellar Synthesis of Complex Organic Molecules. arXiv:2305/11409. Guangxi University, Nanning, China add more evidence to nature’s consistent avail of these chemical activations even across vivifying celestial reaches.

Using quantum chemical calculations, we model the pathways for synthesizing two purine nucleobases, adenine and guanine, in the gas-phase interstellar environment, surrounded by neutral atomic hydrogen (HI). HI is found to actively facilitate a series of fundamental proton transfer processes of organic synthesis, including bond formation, cyclization, dehydrogenation, and H migration. The reactive potential barriers were significantly reduced in the alternative pathways created by HI, leading to an increased reaction rate. Our findings suggest that HI may serve as an effective catalyst for interstellar organic synthesis.

Ziurys, Lucy. Prebiotic Astrochemistry from Astronomical Observations and Laboratory Spectroscopy. Annual Review of Physical Chemistry. Volume 75, 2024. As the quote notes, a senior University of Arizona bioastronomer contends that the profuse ISM population of appropriate biomolecule precursors found so far must have made a vital contribution to the origin and occurrence of nascent Earth life and evolution. See also RNA-catalyzed evolution of catalytic RNA by Nikolaos Papastavrou, et al in PNAS (121/11, 2024) and Complex organic molecules uncover deeply embedded precursors of hot cores by Laure Bouscasse, et al at arXiv:2403.05237 for more evidence of a natural life-bearing spontaneity. Altogether these findings suggest that our worldwise scientific quest may have at last reached an actual realization of a phenomenal ecosmic fertility which proceeds with its own procreative development.

The discovery of more than 200 gas-phase chemical compounds in interstellar space has led to the speculation that this nonterrestrial synthesis may play a role in the origin of life. Interstellar chemistry produces a wide range of organic molecules in dense clouds such as NH2COCH3, CH3OCH3, CH3COOCH3, and CH2(OH)CHO. Elusive phosphorus has now been found in molecular milieu and the sites of star formation. The presence of fertile interstellar starting material, as well as the link to planetary bodies such as meteorites and comets, suggests that astrochemical processes set a prebiotic foundation. (Abstract)

Ziurys, Lucy, et al. Prebiotic Chemical Evolution in the Astrophysical Context. Origins of Life and Evolution of Biospheres. Online April, 2015. University of Arizona astrochemists post a paper presented earlier at ORIGINS 2014 in Nara, Japan which offers further proof of how innately primed cosmic physical substance must be to generate and evolve into increasingly complex biochemical precursors.

Conclusions: Millimeter wavelength astronomical observations are clearly demonstrating that gas-phase molecular material is far more common in the Galaxy than previously thought. Interstellar molecules are increasingly found in significant abundances under harsh environmental conditions. For example, polyatomic species such as H2CO, HCN, and C3H2 are present in planetary nebulae, contained in dense, self-shielding clumps that then seed the diffuse ISM. Molecular material is therefore “recycled” in the ISM, suggesting that chemical timescales could be as long as the lifetime of the Galaxy. Therefore, greater chemical complexity can be achieved than previously thought, perhaps leading to even more complex prebiotic or even biological compounds that could significantly influence the beginning of life on a planet such as the Earth.

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