A molecule used to create plastic might hold the key to Earth's origins.
Scientists recently discovered a chiral molecule inside a gas cloud located 28,000 light-years away from Earth, and believe it shed some light on how life formed on Earth.
This is the first time scientists find a chiral molecule in interstellar space. This type of molecule is known to have two different forms (left-handed and right-handed) with the same chemical formula.
The left-handed molecules were the first to incorporate themselves into life on this planet, and evolved to mostly stay left-handed — which is a process called homochirality. The right-handed molecules became essentially useless.