The compound, which is the material for the construction of the walls of living cells, is found on Titan. The substance was fixed in the atmosphere of the Saturn satellite by the complex of radio telescopes ALMA (Atacama Large Millimeter Array).
The discovered ALMA acrylonitrile is a material of cell membranes. According to NASA scientists, the find may indicate the existence of primitive life forms in the methane oceans of the planetoid. On Earth, phosphorus and oxygen are present in the cell membranes, but under Titan conditions this is not possible. But in excess there is hydrogen, carbon and nitrogen.
Despite the harsh conditions of Saturn’s moon (-179 degrees Celsius), life can be present: according to researchers, for this there are all conditions. Acrylonitrile concentrates around the south pole of Titan: because of low temperatures, the substance is concentrated and spilled into the huge methane seas. Concentration and volume of the compound are such that it is possible to produce more than 10 000 living cells per cubic centimeter of the substance. This is much more than the indicators of the water area of the world’s oceans.
