Astrochemist Ryan Fortenberry, an associate professor at the University of Mississippi, is on a mission to uncover the origins of life by studying space.
In collaboration with Ralf Kaiser from the University of Hawaii at Mānoa, Fortenberry has been investigating how a simple sugar acid, glyceric acid, can form under space-like conditions.
Their research, recently published in the German journal Physik in unserer Zeit, could help bridge a crucial gap in our understanding of how life began.
Glyceric acid is a simple sugar acid that plays an important role in the metabolism of living organisms on Earth.
It’s a molecule that can taste either sweet or sour, depending on its state. But more important than its flavor is what its formation tells us about the origins of life.
Fortenberry explains that glyceric acid is one of the “building blocks” of life. Understanding how this molecule forms in space could provide crucial insights into how life started on Earth.
Scientists are particularly interested in the gap between small molecules, which are studied in prebiotic chemistry, and large, complex molecules found in living organisms.
“There’s a big disconnect between prebiotic chemistry and biochemistry,” Fortenberry says. “We know that if we can create these small prebiotic molecules, they will eventually come together to form the large biochemicals necessary for life.”
Glyceric acid is one of those in-between molecules that isn’t too small or too large. It helps show how prebiotic molecules can connect to form the complex biochemicals that make up life.
Fortenberry uses a tree analogy to explain: if prebiotic molecules are like leaves, sticks, and pinecones, then biochemistry molecules are the tree itself. Glyceric acid is like a branch that connects the smaller parts to the larger structure.
Understanding that glyceric acid can form in space is a key to unraveling the mystery of life’s origins on Earth. Fortenberry suggests that if glyceric acid can form in gas clouds in space—such as in Sagittarius B2, a massive cloud at the center of our galaxy—then the building blocks of life might be more common in the universe than previously thought.
This discovery supports the idea that molecules like glyceric acid could have been synthesized in space long before they arrived on Earth, potentially delivered by comets or meteorites. This could mean that the conditions for forming life might not be unique to Earth but could exist elsewhere in the universe.
Fortenberry emphasizes the importance of this research, saying, “Every atom in our body that isn’t hydrogen was formed in a star over the past 13 billion years. Understanding how those atoms became molecules and how those molecules eventually led to life is crucial. Glyceric acid is one of those steps along the ladder of life’s origins.”
This research brings us one step closer to understanding the cosmic origins of life, showing that the ingredients for life might be scattered throughout the universe.
