This is a series of lectures for the graduate students or advanced undergraduate level students providing an introduction to the application of fundamental principles of the production of atomic nuclei along the cosmic evolution. An emphasis will be placed on, first, the formation processes of the elements and, second, the molecules of life, i.e. the amino acids, in various astrophysical conditions in space from a perspective of fundamental interactions of elementary particles and nuclei. In addition, time will be devoted to the link between theory and experimentation on these subjects. Modern experiments in particle and nuclear physics will be described and how these relate to astronomical observables on the production and formation of atomic nuclei, molecules, and amino acids.