Spectrum of Distant Galaxy Shows Evidence of Organic Molecules

Diffuse interstellar bands, which probably come from complex organic molecules, have been found in the spectrum of a galaxy two billion light-years away. 

Studying the spectrum should help us learn how life first evolved. The bands were discovered by Sara Ellison and her colleagues at the University of Victoria in Canada, using the Very Large Telescope in Chile.  The discovery was announced in a report accepted for publication in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.