An international group of scientists from the Arcetri Astrophysical Observatory (INAF-OAA, Florence, Italy), the Center of Astrobiology (CAB-CSIC, Madrid, Spain) and the Max-Plank Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics (MPE, Garching, Germany) has detected for the first time the prebiotic molecule P-O in star-forming regions. This molecule plays a key role in the double helix structure of DNA, and is therefore directly linked to the origin of life in the Universe. 

  In the past few years, new generation of telescopes have allowed the astronomers to detect in the interstellar medium molecules that play an important role in prebiotic chemistry. These molecules are considered the building blocks of the first living organisms, and therefore their study can shed light about the origin of life in the Universe. 

For more information about this study, visit: 

http://www.iram-institute.org/EN/news/2016/128.html