Scientists Detect 4-Carbon Sugar in Interstellar Space, With 12 Spectral Lines Confirming Erythrulose
Updated
Updated · Sky at Night Magazine · Jul 14
Scientists Detect 4-Carbon Sugar in Interstellar Space, With 12 Spectral Lines Confirming Erythrulose
3 articles · Updated · Sky at Night Magazine · Jul 14
Summary
An international team identified erythrulose in the Milky Way molecular cloud G+0.693−0.027, marking the first direct detection of any sugar in interstellar space.
Twelve spectral lines from Yebes 40m and IRAM 30m telescope surveys matched the laboratory spectrum of erythrulose, confirming the four-carbon ketose in the cloud near the Galactic Center.
The study found erythrulose is at least eight times more abundant than comparable three-carbon sugars, which were not detected there, challenging the usual carbon-by-carbon growth model for interstellar molecules.
Researchers propose the sugar formed in interstellar ices when two-carbon alcohols and aldehydes merged, rather than through stepwise carbon addition.
Based on the measured abundance, the team estimates 0.5 million to 50 million tonnes could have reached early Earth during the Late Heavy Bombardment, bolstering the idea that key prebiotic ingredients arrived from space.
Scientists found a key sugar for life in space. Could this discovery solve the mystery of why life is 'handed'?
A fake tan ingredient is made in deep space. What does this cosmic sugar reveal about how life begins?
Space is a 'molecular bakery' for life's sugars. What other key ingredients is it cooking up among the stars?
Interstellar Erythrulose Discovery Reveals Widespread Prebiotic Chemistry in the Universe
Overview
The recent detection of erythrulose, a four-carbon sugar, in interstellar space marks a major breakthrough in astrobiology and our understanding of the origins of life. This discovery shows that complex sugars, which are fundamental biomolecules and essential for life as metabolic fuels and structural components of nucleic acids, can form in the harsh conditions of space. Since laboratory experiments on early Earth have struggled to produce enough monosaccharides, finding erythrulose in space suggests that the building blocks of life may be more widespread and accessible throughout the universe than previously thought, offering new insights into cosmic chemistry and life's potential beginnings.