Scientists Just Found Sugar in the Milky Way, and It Could Rewrite the Story of Life

For the first time, scientists have detected a sugar molecule floating in clouds of interstellar dust and gas near the centre of the Milky Way. The discovery, reported in the journal Nature Astronomy, suggests that compounds fundamental to life can form in the vast expanse between stars, long before planets exist.

What Did Scientists Find in the Milky Way?

The sugar detected is called erythrulose, a four-carbon compound found in small amounts in raspberries and certain fruits. A team led by astronomers at Spain's Center for Astrobiology identified it in a molecular cloud known as G+0.693-0.027, near the galactic centre, as per CNN.

How Did Researchers Detect Sugar in Interstellar Space?

According to the study, the team used two radio telescopes, one at the Yebes Observatory north of Madrid and another at the Institute for Radio Astronomy in the Millimeter Range in southern Spain. They matched the molecular signature from the cloud against erythrulose's wavelength pattern measured in the laboratory.

Why Does Finding Sugar in Space Matter?

Sugars help provide energy, build biological structures, and form parts of genetic material including RNA and DNA. Scientists had previously detected over 340 molecules in the Milky Way's interstellar space but had found no sugars until now.

Was This Discovery Expected by the Scientific Community?

Not entirely. Lead author Izaskun Jiménez-Serra reportedly said the finding was unexpected because prevailing astrochemistry theory holds that molecules grow through the sequential addition of carbon atoms, as per CNN. The team had initially searched for simpler three-carbon sugars and found none.

Could This Sugar Have Reached Earth from Space?

The discovery strengthens suggestions that Earth's solar system may have been seeded with organic compounds via asteroids. Researchers estimated that between 0.5 million and 50 million metric tons of erythrulose could have reached Earth during the Late Heavy Bombardment, roughly four billion years ago.

Have Sugars Been Found Elsewhere in Space Before?

Sugars including ribose and glucose have previously been detected in primitive meteorites and in samples from asteroid Bennu, collected in 2020.

What Could Scientists Discover in Interstellar Space Next?

According to the study’s co-author Carlos Briones of the Spanish National Research Council, the detection of erythrulose opens the possibility of finding ribose and other molecules critical to the origin of life in interstellar space, CNN reported.

The discovery does not confirm life exists elsewhere. But if the building blocks of biology can form in interstellar space and travel aboard asteroids, the Milky Way may be a far more fertile ground for life's origins than previously understood.

(With inputs from yMedia)