From: invalide@invalid.invalid   
      
   https://phys.org/news/2025-10-carbon-based-compounds-large-magellanic.html   
      
   Astrophysicists from Keele University, alongside   
   an international research team supported by NASA,   
   detected large complex organic molecules in ices   
   outside the Milky Way for the first time—offering   
   a glimpse into the chemistry of the early universe.   
      
   In a discovery that could reshape our understanding   
   of how the chemical ingredients for life spread   
   throughout the cosmos, astronomers detected organic   
   molecules with more than six atoms frozen in ice   
   around a young star called ST6 forming in a galaxy   
   outside of the Milky Way.   
      
   Using the James Webb Space Telescope's Mid-Infrared   
   Instrument (MIRI), the researchers discovered five   
   different carbon-based compounds in the Large   
   Magellanic Cloud—our nearest galactic neighbor.   
      
   The team identified five complex organic molecules   
   (COMs) in the ice surrounding the young protostar,   
   many of which can be found right here on Earth:   
   methanol and ethanol (common types of alcohol),   
   methyl formate and acetaldehyde (primarily used as   
   industrial chemicals on Earth) and acetic acid (the   
   main component of vinegar). One of the   
   molecules—acetic acid—has never been conclusively   
   detected before in space ice, while ethanol, methyl   
   formate and acetaldehyde represent the first   
   detections of these COMs in ices outside the Milky   
   Way galaxy.   
      
   In addition, the team also observed spectral   
   features that resemble another ice   
   COM—glycolaldehyde, a sugar-related molecule and   
   precursor of more complex biomolecules, such as   
   components of RNA; however, further investigation   
   is needed to confirm its detection.   
   ...   
      
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