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If you don’t love heavy metal now, I’m at a loss . . .

Key Molecule for Life Found in Habitable Region of the Galaxy

A sugar molecule linked to the origin of life was discovered in a potentially habitable region of our galaxy.

The molecule, called glycolaldehyde, was spotted in a large star-forming area of space around 26,000 light-years from Earth in the less-chaotic outer regions of the Milky Way. This suggests the sugar could be common across the universe, which is good news for extraterrestrial-life seekers.

“This is an important discovery as it is the first time glycolaldehyde, a basic sugar, has been detected towards a star-forming region where planets that could potentially harbor life may exist,” Serena Viti of University College London said in a press release.

Previously, glycolaldehyde had only been observed toward the center of the galaxy, where conditions are thought to be too extreme to host habitable planets.

Glycolaldehyde is a key ingredient for life. It helps to build Ribonucleic acid (RNA), which is thought to be the central molecule involved in the origin of life on Earth. Glycolaldehyde is a monosaccharide sugar, the basic unit of carbohydrates. It can react with the chemical propenal to form ribose, the building block of RNA.

“The discovery of an organic sugar molecule in a star forming region of space is very exciting and will provide incredibly useful information in our search for alien life,” said Keith Mason, chief executive of the England’s Science and Technology Facilities Council.

The finding, made with the IRAM radio telescope in France, was announced Tuesday and will be published in the Astrophysical Journal Letters.

Get the message? Don’t be a Three-Finger Joe.

Kudos to whoever the hell made this video. The images from Roberto Gavaldon’s film Macario work really well with this song by Reverend Beat-Man’s fuzzed-out garage-punk band, The Monsters, from Switzerland. Enjoy!

ÜFT! was a band that formed in Warrensburg, Missouri, in 1987 that existed up until around 1990 or ‘91. Members (college students from CMSU) were Dan (Alex) Alexander (guitar, vocals), Steve Tulipana (bass, vocals) and Matt Ronan (drums, vocals).

You can download Lessons of the Past, the first (and most likely the last) ever ÜFT!CAST at the following link:

DOWNLOAD MP3

Song List:

Foamcore
Making for Tomorrow
Oxydol
Somewhere Out There
A Life for a Day
Scarred
Did I Ever Tell You?
Dag Nasty
Once Again
Jr. High
I Think it Is to Me
She Had to Go
Ride My Bike if You Can
Notta Whole Lotta ÜFT!
Lessons of the Past
Best Friend’s Girl
I Think it Is to Me
California Dreaming (Live)
Jr. High (Live)
Lessons of the Past (Live)
Our Way (Live)
A Life for a Day (Live)
The Munsters (Live)
Nervous Breakdown (Live)

 

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