High temperature initiation of natural amino acid synthesis

Available astronomical data appears to justify experiments designed to test the role of high temperatures in the abiotic synthesis of molecules of biological significance. High temperature cosmic environments have been duplicated to some degree in which the components were simple combinations of the most universally-abundant elements. Two types of cosmic environments were considered, (a) stellar atmospheres and (b) impact events such as collisions of planets with comets or large meteorites. It is postulated that a wide variety of molecular species could arise from such situations, and the scope of this study is confined primarily to the synthesis and detection of amino acids. It has been confirmed (a) that a variety of compounds are formed, (b) that some of these are amino acids, (c) that glycine, alanine and aspartic acid have been identified with certainty and (d) that the products identified are not contamination.