Scientists find sugar in the Milky Way. It could help answer a cosmic mystery
Scientists have discovered a naturally occurring sugar called erythrulose in the interstellar medium of the Milky Way. This finding suggests that the building blocks for life may have originated in space before being delivered to Earth by asteroids and comets.
Why it matters
Understanding the cosmic origins of life-sustaining molecules helps solve a fundamental mystery regarding how life emerged on Earth.
A group of scientists have made a sweet discovery after identifying naturally occurring sugar in the heart of the Milky Way , offering a sprinkling of new insight into the origins of life on Earth.
According to a study published in the journal Nature Astronomy , the findings provide a clue to the source of the life-sustaining compound and how its vital presence came to be in all living things.
Sugar’s inception on Earth has proven a longstanding mystery to researchers, who knew it must have been present in the early days of the cosmos, given life’s reliance on it, but whose attempts to recreate the chemical conditions that would have led to its emergence have largely fallen short, the study says.
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