Evidence of the Existence of Proteinogenic Amino Acids in Space

Yueyang Wang

doi:10.54254/2755-2721/2025.22052

Research Article

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Published on 21 April 2025

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Wang,Y. (2025). Evidence of the Existence of Proteinogenic Amino Acids in Space. Applied and Computational Engineering,143,42-46.

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Evidence of the Existence of Proteinogenic Amino Acids in Space

Yueyang Wang *^,1,

¹ University College London, London, United Kingdom, WC1E 6BT

* Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

https://doi.org/10.54254/2755-2721/2025.22052

Abstract

Proteinogenic amino acids – the primary monomers to form proteins on Earth – have been found successively in extraterrestrial areas over decades. It was reported that the detection of amino acids can be both ex situ and in situ. The discovery of proteinogenic amino acids from space may date back to the history of the solar system and is suggestive of alternative mechanisms of synthesizing amino acids. This article uses the literature review method and systematically summarizes the findings from meteorites, asteroids, comets, and the interstellar medium. The article concludes that complex organic molecules are widely spread across the universe and supports the hypothesis that the basic building block of life may be delivered to Earth via celestial bodies, increasing the likelihood of searching for living organisms outside Earth.

Keywords

the Murchison meteorite, asteroid Ryugu, comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, interstellar medium

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References

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Cite this article

Wang,Y. (2025). Evidence of the Existence of Proteinogenic Amino Acids in Space. Applied and Computational Engineering,143,42-46.

Data availability

The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study will be available from the authors upon reasonable request.

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About volume

Volume title: Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference on Functional Materials and Civil Engineering

Conference website: https://2025.conffmce.org/

ISBN：978-1-80590-001-6(Print) / 978-1-80590-002-3(Online)

Conference date: 24 October 2025

Editor：Anil Fernando

Series: Applied and Computational Engineering

Volume number: Vol.143

ISSN：2755-2721(Print) / 2755-273X(Online)

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