First detection of interstellar glycolonitrile

First detection of the pre-biotic molecule glycolonitrile (HOCH2CN) in the interstellar medium

Theories of a pre-RNA world suggest that glycolonitrile (HOCH$_2$CN) is a key species in the process of ribonucleotide assembly, which is considered as a molecular precursor of nucleic acids. In this Letter, we report the first detection of this pre-biotic molecule in the interstellar medium (ISM) by using ALMA data obtained at frequencies between 86.5$\,$GHz and 266.5$\,$GHz toward the Solar-type protostar IRAS16293-2422 B.

https://arxiv.org/abs/1901.02576