Astronomers Detect the First True Sugar in Interstellar Space
Astronomers have detected erythrulose, a simple sugar, in a molecular cloud near the center of the Milky Way. This discovery suggests that the chemical building blocks for life can form in deep space before planets are even created.
Why it matters
This finding provides significant evidence for the theory that the ingredients for life on Earth may have originated in interstellar space rather than being exclusively terrestrial.
Astronomers have detected a true sugar in interstellar space for the first time, floating in a chemically rich cloud near the center of the Milky Way .
The molecule is called erythrulose. It is a four-carbon monosaccharide, or simple sugar, also found in raspberries. By itself, its discovery doesn’t mean that there’s life in outer space, but it does show that surprisingly complex ingredients for prebiotic chemistry can form before planets exist.
The molecule, called erythrulose, belongs to the same chemical family as the sugars that help build RNA and DNA. Basically, the raw materials needed for early biology need not have originated on Earth. They could have formed in space, become incorporated into asteroids and comets, and eventually landed on young planets.
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