​Tryptophan, An Amino Acid Essential For Life, Has Been Found | Astronomy Knowledge

​Tryptophan, An Amino Acid Essential For Life, Has Been Found In Interstellar Space

◉Tryptophan is one of the 20 amino acids considered essential for the formation of proteins, which are key macromolecules for the development of life on Earth.

◉The data took into account from many regions of star and planet formation, but it was in one of the nearest and best known regions, the molecular cloud complex in Perseus, and in particular in the stellar system IC 348 where the combination of all the spectroscopic data from the satellite has allowed us to attain the máximum sensitivity and to identify lines which tryptophan produces in the laboratory.

◉The study also presents evidence that tryptophan-associated emission lines may also be present in other star-forming regions and suggests that its presence, and possibly that of other amino acids, is common in the gas from which stars and planets form. “It is likely that amino acids, the building blocks of proteins, may be enriching the gas in the protoplanetary discs and atmospheres of young, newly formed exoplanets and perhaps accelerating the emergence of life there” says Iglesias-Groth.