HCN is a common molecule in the Universe, having been identified on various planets, 2 dwarf planets, Saturn's moon Titan, 4 comets 5 and in the interstellar medium. HCN was likely present on the early Earth. The molecule is also quite reactive. In experiments, biologically relevant molecules such as amino acids, nucleobases and pterins 8 have all been extracted from the products of HCN polymerization experiments (see ref. for a review).