Amino acids search turns up ethyl formate

Updated: Wednesday, 22 Apr 2009, 9:51 AM CDT
Published : Wednesday, 22 Apr 2009, 9:33 AM CDT

By FRANK CARNEVALE, Special Contributor

kxan.com

BONN, Germany – Scientists searching space for evidence of amino acids, the molecules that are basic to life, found instead a substance called ethyl formate, a chemical responsible for the flavor of raspberries.

According to The Guardian scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy found the raspberry-related substance after sifting through radiation signals coming from the Milky Way galaxy.

“It does happen to give raspberries their flavor, but there are many other molecules that are needed to make space raspberries,” Arnaud Belloche, an astronomer at the Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy in Bonn, told the Guardian.

The search for amino acids in space is considered the Holy Grail for astrobiologists because it would show the possibility that life does exist on other parts of the universe. The results of the research are being presented at the European Week of Astronomy and Space Science at the University of Hertfordshire in England.

Starburst candies must have already thought the fruit tasted like the cosmos as raspberry has been introduced in many of its products. And NASA has been working on improving the taste and menu for space travelers since its first missions. Today astronauts get many foods that we have everyday like potato chips and dessert including a berry medley.