With JWST’s MIRI instrument, an IAC team led by Jialu Li detected the methyl radical (CH₃) around SMP LMC 011, a carbon-rich dying star in the Large Magellanic Cloud – the first secure detection around such a star, and in larger amounts than predicted. Ultraviolet light or shock waves eroding carbon dust are the likely source. Our take: dying stars seed galaxies with the carbon chemistry that later goes into new planets.