Past studies:
* Volatile, low-mass (100 u) nitrogen- and oxygen-bearing organic species.
* Single-ringed aromatic compounds.
* Complex, high-mass (exceeding 20 u) macromolecular fragments of insoluble organic material, featuring multiple aryl groups connected to hydrocarbon chains, along with nitrogen- and oxygen-bearing groups.
* Aryl (aromatic) and oxygen-bearing compounds in older E-ring grains.
Current study:
* Confirmed aryl and O-bearing compounds in fresh grains (ruling out that they formed due to space weathering)
* Aliphatic O-bearing compounds with carbonyl groups attached to a C2 organic, with acetaldehyde or acetic acid being likely candidates (aldehydes are interesting because they're intermediates precursors in the formation of amino acids)
* Aliphatic and cyclic esters and/or alkenes (on Earth, these are involved in the formation of fats and oils)
* Two classes of ether and/or ethyl compounds (on Earth, these are regularly found in living organisms)
* Tentative N- and O-bearing moieties. Potential candidates for these molecules include derivatives of pyrimidine, pyridine, and nitriles like acetonitrile (such molecules are involved in the reactions that form amino acids).
TL/DR: there may well be not just the atomic building blocks of life in there (CHONPS), but the molecular building blocks as well.
