Eight organic molecules have been found in interstellar dust clouds in two regions of space, the Astrophysical Journal reports.

One of the molecules found in Sagittarius B2(N), called acetamide, contains a type of chemical bond important for linking together amino acids.

The newfound molecules bring the total number of biologically-relevant molecules found in interstellar space to 141. Scientists have previously found benzene, a ring-shaped carbon molecule important for life on Earth, around stars and intact amino acids in meteorites that have crash-landed on Earth.