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This handout picture released on June 8, 2017 by the European Southern Observatory shows a wide-field view of a spectacular region of dark and bright clouds, forming part of a region of star formation in the constellation of Ophiuchus (The Serpent Bearer). This picture was created from images in the Digitized Sky Survey 2. Two teams of astronomers said they have for the first time detected a key chemical building block of life swirling around infant stars that resemble our Sun before its planets formed. The molecule, methyl isocyanate, “plays an essential role in the formation of proteins, which are basic ingredients for life”, said Victor Rivilla, a scientist at the Astrophysics Observatory in Florence, Italy, and co-author of a study published in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. (Photo by AFP Photo/European Southern Observatory)
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