A team of astronomers at the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico detected two ingredients that build life-forming amino acids in Arp 220, a galaxy nearly 250 million light years away from Earth. When combined with water, the molecules methanimine and hydrogen cyanide form glycene, the simplest amino acid and a building block of life on Earth. The team focused on the distant galaxy Arp 220 because it forms new stars and planets at a very high rate. Led by Christopher Salter, the Arecibo astronomers announced its discovery in a poster presented at the American Astronomical Society meeting in Austin, Texas.