Astronomers Detect Sugar Molecule in Interstellar Space for First Time

For the first time, astronomers have detected a sugar molecule in the interstellar medium, a discovery that sheds light on the possible cosmic origins of life's building blocks. Source: Wired, CNN The sugar, called erythrulose, was found in the molecular cloud G+0.693−0.027 near the center of the Milky Way, about 26,000 light-years away. Source: Wired, AP The detection was made using two radio telescopes in Spain: the Yebes 40-meter and IRAM 30-meter telescopes. Source: Gizmodo, CNN Erythrulose is a four-carbon sugar that on Earth is found in raspberries and can convert into threose, a possible evolutionary predecessor of RNA. Source: Wired, Gizmodo This finding challenges the prevailing view that interstellar molecules grow sequentially by adding carbon atoms. Source: CNN Previously, sugars had been detected in meteorites and asteroid samples, such as ribose in Bennu, but never directly in the space between stars. Source: Wired, AP The study, published in Nature Astronomy, suggests that complex organic compounds can form even before stars and planets are born. Source: Gizmodo Lead author Izaskun Jiménez-Serra stated that 'the key ingredients for the origin of life could be present in other regions across the galaxy, opening the possibility for life to develop elsewhere in the universe.' Source: Euronews, AP