"We are really trying to understand how far we can go, chemically, toward larger biological molecules and what environments ...

These gases — composed of carbon, hydrogen, and a halogen, like chlorine — are mostly made by bacteria, algae, fungi, and plants. The chemicals are particularly intriguing as a potential sign of life ...

The James Webb Space Telescope detects methyl cation (CH3+) in a young star system with a protoplanetary disk that is located in the Orion Nebula. Credit: Space.com | imagery courtesy: ESA/Webb, NASA, ...