Visual Timeline of the Universe

Found in interstellar space, and therefore in planet-forming nebulae, are complex carbon molecules and amino acids -- the building blocks of life. The universe appears to be very well populated with the raw materials to manufacture the deoxyribonucleic (DNA) molecule, the blueprint of all life on Earth. However, the method for ensuring that all of the right components find each other in the right quantities and under the right circumstances has yet to be identified. The fact that it happened once, and with such prolific consequences, suggests that in the chain of events described here, the opportunity exists for repeated occurrences of life elsewhere in the universe.