Image - The atomic structure of pyrene molecules (upper left and upper right) are represented in an artist's rendering of an asteroid belt. A new study shows chemical steps for how pyrene, a type of hydrocarbon found in some meteorite samples, could form in space. (Credit: NASA-JPL-Caltech, Wikimedia Commons)

Chemical Sleuthing Unravels Possible Path to the Formation of Life’s Building Blocks in Space

Scientists have used experiments at Berkeley Lab to retrace the chemical steps leading to the creation of complex hydrocarbons in space. They showed pathways to forming 2-D carbon-based nanostructures in a mix of heated gases.

Berkeley Lab News Center