Interstellar Medium Has Biological Preservative

MAY 01, 1969

Physics Today

Interstellar formaldehyde $(H_{2} CO)$ has been discovered by a group working with the 140‐foot radio telescope at Green Bank, W. Va. They observed the molecule in absorption against many galactic and extragalactic sources. The discovery suggests that all the known ingredients for development of life are present in interstellar space.

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