Overview

• Researchers used ALMA to detect 17 complex organic molecules, such as ethylene glycol and glycolonitrile, in the protoplanetary disk of V883 Orionis.
• The findings, published July 24–25 in Astrophysical Journal Letters, represent the first peer-reviewed confirmation of prebiotic compounds in a planet-forming environment.
• Results overturn the long-held chemical reset hypothesis by showing that disks inherit complex organics directly from interstellar clouds.
• Observations coincided with an accretion outburst that heated the disk and liberated molecules from icy grains for millimeter-wave detection.
• The research team is planning higher-resolution ALMA observations to verify tentative spectral signatures and search for even more complex compounds.