DNA Ingredients Discovered in Nearby Disk

Using the Spitzer Space Telescope, astronomers have discovered life-forming elements in a protoplanetary disk around object IRS 46. When mixed with water in a laboratory experiment, these chemicals - acetylene and hydrogen cyanide - create a number of organic compounds, including amino acids and the DNA base adenine. The elements were discovered in the star's terrestrial planet zone, the specific region around the star in which planets such as Earth and Mars are believed to form.