38 Self and the Phenomenon of Life
b2726 Self and the Phenomenon of Life: A Biologist Examines Life from Molecules to Humanity “9x6”published in 1967, Oró identified the following compounds as products of
a simulated prebiotic synthesis: purines (adenine and guanine); pyrimidine
(uracil); ribose and deoxyribose. (What is missing is cytosine which is unsta-
ble, decomposing quickly to uracil; ribose is also unstable unless complexed
with borate.) The nucleobases were obtained by reacting hydrogen cyanide
with cyanogen and cyanoacetylene, whereas the pentose monosaccharides
Table 3.7. Some Organic Molecules in Cosmic Dust
H 2 Hydrogen
O 2 Oxygen
CO Carbon monoxide
CO 2 Carbon dioxide
H 2 O Water
OH Hydroxyl radical
CH 4 Methane
CH 3 OH Methanol
H 2 CO Formaldehyde
NH 2 CHO Formamide
HCOOH Formic acid
CH 3 CHO Acetaldehyde
CH 2 OHCHO Glycolaldehyde
CH 3 COOH Acetic acid
CH 3 C 2 H Methylacetylene
H 2 S Hydrogen sulfide
OCS Carbonyl sulfide
CS Carbon sulfide
SO Sulfur monoxide
H 2 CS Thioformamide
NH 3 Ammonia
CN Cyanogen radical
HCN Hydrogen cyanide
HC 3 N Cyanoacetylene
CH 3 CN Acetonitrile
As of 2012, there are over 200 simple molecules found in the
interstellar and circumstellar clouds (in the form of dust and gas),
as determined by spectroscopic analysis. About 20% of the dust
consists of organic carbon compounds. [US Natl. Aero. Space Ad.]