Russian scientist: "We are not alone in the Universe"

Russian scientist: "We are not alone in the Universe"

      Ivan Antonov, a native of Samara, was passionate about science from childhood. He found inspiration in the book "Atom the Giant," which he read at the age of five. After graduating from the Faculty of Chemistry at Samara University, he worked for three years with chemical lasers at the Siberian Branch of the Lebedev Physical Institute, then spent 20 years researching radioactive elements and atmospheric chemistry in the United States.

      Upon returning to Samara, Antonov headed the Center for Laboratory Astrophysics. In collaboration with the University of Hawaii, his team created a device that simulates the conditions of deep space (-263°C). Using this setup, scientists are able to reproduce chemical reactions that naturally take millions of years.

      For the first time, scientists synthesized lactaldehyde—a key compound that may explain the origin of the "building blocks of life" in space. This substance could have arrived on Earth on comets and become the foundation for the first biological molecules.

      Currently, the scientists plan to study the chemical evolution of the Universe, search for conditions that could give rise to life on other planets, and establish a new scientific school in Russia.

      “We are filling important gaps in astrochemistry,” Antonov is quoted by volga.news. “These studies may become the foundation for new discoveries in the science of the origin of life.”

Другие Новости Кирова (НЗК)

Russian scientist: "We are not alone in the Universe"

Ivan Antonov, a scientist from Samara, together with his team, has experimentally proven that an organic compound important for the processes of the origin of life can form in interstellar ices in deep space under the influence of galactic rays. This means that there is a possibility that Earth became habitable due to external influences. And perhaps we are not alone in the universe.