How high-pressure ices on large ocean worlds can support habitability: The compatibility of amino acids into ice VI and VII.

Amino acids show moderate compatibility with high-pressure ices VI and VII, with partition coefficients up to 0.40, potentially supporting habitability in large ocean worlds.

• Why it matters: Understanding how bio-essential compounds like amino acids are incorporated into high-pressure ice is crucial because these ice layers block nutrient transfer from rocky interiors to oceans, affecting potential habitability.
• What they did: The study measured partition coefficients of glycine and alanine into ices VI and VII under elevated conditions using a diamond-anvil cell, finding coefficients of up to 0.40, and used first-principles calculations to suggest amino acids can be incorporated into ice lattices.
• The result: This compatibility indicates amino acids could be transported within high-pressure ices, which may facilitate nutrient availability in extraterrestrial oceans and thus support habitability.