New 'Holy Grail' Molecule Critical for Life Detected for First Time

The James Webb Space Telescope has detected methyl cation, a key carbon molecule, in space for the first time ever.
Methyl cation can promote chemical reactions that form more complex carbon molecules, crucial building blocks for life.
The discovery of methyl cation in a young star system in the Orion Nebula reveals the chemical processes that could give rise to alien life.
The presence of methyl cation in a region bombarded with powerful UV radiation suggests that UV radiation may actually be the source of energy needed to form this particular molecule in the first place, and could play a critical role in the early chemical stages of the origins of life.
Methyl cation was found in a protoplanetary disk swirling around a young red dwarf star located 1,350 light-years away from Earth in the Orion Nebula.