Stars and their planets form from swirling clouds of gas and dust enriched with chemical elements and compounds from previous generations of stars. One long-standing question in astronomy is: How ubiquitous are the elements crucial to life as we know it?

A new Webb study of two protostars, so young that they have not yet formed planets, has found a variety of molecules ranging from relatively simple ones like methane to complex compounds like acetic acid (familiar to cooks as an ingredient in vinegar). These molecules constitute key ingredients for worlds that might one day host life.