Astronomers find berry sugar erythrulose in space, boosting life search

Whenever the idea of searching for life beyond Earth comes into picture, two key elements that are always a priority are water and oxygen. Now, astronomers have added another intriguing ingredient to the list: sugar. The latest research highlights that now scientists have discovered erythrulose, a naturally occurring four-carbon sugar found in raspberries, kiwis and other fruit, in a giant molecular cloud close to the center of the Milky Way. Sounds exciting? Well, the research, published in the journal Nature Astronomy, states that this is the first-ever detection of this type of sugar in interstellar space and provides new insight into how the building blocks of life could be created and distributed throughout the universe. Moreover, the finding provides insight not only into how life began on Earth but also the possibility that the same chemical processes may be occurring on distant planets.