The rally monkey came to national and world-wide attention during the Angels' appearance in the 2002 World Series, again against the San Francisco Giants. In the sixth game, the Angels were playing at home, but were trailing the series 3-2 and facing elimination.
Previously, polystyrene was the largest stable synthetic molecule, at 40 million hydrogen masses. To create their molecular giant, SchlÃ¼ter and his colleagues started with standard polymerisation, in which smaller molecules join up to form a long chain.
Although much progress has been made, there is still no single definitive theory. Life, for all its complexity, is woven out of just 30 or so different molecules, constructed from some of the most abundant elements in the universe: oxygen, hydrogen, carbon, nitrogen, sulphur and phosphorus.