For the First Time, Astronomers Have Detected Sugar In Space

Astronomers have detected a naturally occurring sugar in a cloud of gas and dust near the center of the Milky Way, marking the first time such a compound has been identified in interstellar space and raising hopes that other building blocks of life may also exist between the stars.

The discovery, published in the Nature Astronomy journal, identifies the four-carbon sugar erythrulose, a compound found in small amounts in raspberries and other fruits and known for its role in biological processes.

The finding suggests relatively complex organic molecules can form before stars and planets are born, lending support to the idea that some of the ingredients necessary for life may have originated in space.

A team led by researchers at Spain’s Center for Astrobiology detected the sugar in a molecular cloud known as G+0.693−0.027 near the center of the Milky Way using radio telescopes at the Yebes Observatory near Madrid and the Institute for Radio Astronomy in the Millimeter Range (IRAM) in southern Spain.

The scientists identified the molecule by matching its radio-wave signature with laboratory measurements of erythrulose. They had initially searched for simpler three-carbon sugars but found none.

“This finding was unexpected, as the prevailing view in astrochemistry is that interstellar molecules grow in size through the sequential addition of carbon atoms,” lead author Izaskun Jiménez-Serra, an astronomer at the Center for Astrobiology and the Spanish National Research Council, said in a statement.

“Our discovery demonstrates that relatively complex sugars can already be synthesized in interstellar space, before stars and planets are born,” she added.

The researchers said erythrulose could form from simpler molecules on icy dust grains drifting through space before becoming incorporated into more complex chemical systems. More than 340 molecules have previously been detected in interstellar space within the Milky Way, but no sugar had been identified until now.

The discovery strengthens a growing body of evidence suggesting that some of the organic compounds needed for life may have reached Earth from space.

“Sugar and sugar-related compounds have been found in asteroids, but the discovery of these compounds in interstellar space strengthens suggestions that our solar system may have been seeded with pre-existing organic compounds,” said Mark Sephton, a professor of Earth science and engineering at Imperial College London who was not involved in the study.

Scientists have previously detected sugars including ribose and glucose in primitive meteorites and in samples returned from the asteroid Bennu, supporting the theory that organic molecules may have formed in space before being delivered to Earth.

Sephton said sugars could have become incorporated into asteroids during their formation and later reached Earth’s surface through meteorite impacts.

Yoshihiro Furukawa, a professor in the Department of Earth Sciences at Japan’s Tohoku University who helped identify sugars in Bennu samples, said the latest discovery had long been anticipated.

“This finding is very interesting, as we have been waiting for an actual detection like this,” he said.

The researchers estimated that between 500,000 metric tons and 50 million metric tons of erythrulose could have reached Earth during the Late Heavy Bombardment about 4 billion years ago, when asteroids are thought to have frequently struck the inner planets, although scientists continue to debate the extent of that period.

The discovery also raises the possibility of finding other biologically important sugars in space.

“The detection of erythrulose is very exciting because it opens up the possibility of discovering in space other sugars such as ribose, which is part of RNA, and other important molecules for the origin of life,” Carlos Briones, a study co-author and researcher in molecular evolution at the Spanish National Research Council and the Center for Astrobiology, said in a statement.

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