Researchers detected erythrulose, a four-carbon sugar, in a molecular cloud near the galactic center -- the first time a "true sugar" has been found in the interstellar medium. The discovery matters because erythrulose can convert into the building blocks of nucleic acids like RNA and DNA, suggesting that sugars capable of supporting life can form naturally in space. A study published July 13 in Nature Astronomy, led by astronomer Izaskun Jiménez-Serra at Spain's Center for Astrobiology, establishes that these organic compounds exist in the gas and dust between star systems.
The finding opens the possibility of discovering other life-critical sugars like ribose in interstellar space. While sugar-like compounds have been detected in meteorites and asteroid samples before -- including material from NASA's OSIRIS-REx mission to asteroid Bennu -- this marks the first confirmed detection in the interstellar medium itself. If erythrulose formed in the molecular clouds where planets and stars are born, it could have hitched rides on asteroids and comets that collided with young planets billions of years ago, potentially seeding the chemical ingredients for early life on Earth.