The other is the simpler molecule formic acid, which was discovered in 1975.
Acetic acid is one step short of glycine, the simplest amino acid.
Early results of an inconclusive search for glycine in space were reported two years ago by a U. of I. astronomy research group at the society's annual meeting in Minneapolis. Ammonia has been known to exist in interstellar space since 1969, so with the discovery of acetic acid, it is very plausible that simple amino acids do exist in space. Many scientists theorize that the beginning of life on Earth may have resulted by the transport of such life-giving material on board comets and asteroids, said Snyder, a professor of astronomy. BIMA is a consortium made up of scientists from the University of California at Berkeley, the U. of I. and the University of Maryland at College Park. The presence of interstellar acetic acid was confirmed by the same researchers using the Owens Valley Radio Observatory Array near Bishop, Calif., a facility operated by the California Institute of Technology.