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A remarkable discovery by astronomers could change the way science explains the origins of life in the Universe. A naturally occurring sugar has been identified in interstellar space for the first time, a discovery that strengthens the theory that the basic ingredients of life may have formed long before the birth of stars and planets.
The team of researchers, led by astronomers from the Center for Astrobiology in Spain, discovered the molecule erythrulose, a four-carbon sugar, in the molecular cloud G+0.693−0.027, near the center of the Milky Way galaxy. Sugars are essential for living organisms, as they participate in energy production and in the construction of RNA and DNA.
The discovery was made using two radio telescopes in Spain, which analyzed radio wave signals emitted by the molecular cloud. Scientists compared these signals with laboratory data and confirmed the presence of erythrulose.
"This discovery was unexpected, since the prevailing view in astrochemistry is that interstellar molecules grow in size through the successive addition of carbon atoms ," said the study's lead author, astronomer Izaskun Jiménez-Serra.
She added that:
"Our discovery shows that relatively complex sugars could already be synthesized in interstellar space, before stars and planets were born."
The study, published in the journal Nature Astronomy, suggests that erythrulose can form in icy dust particles found in space and then become part of chemical reactions that lead to even more complex molecules.
To date, astronomers have identified over 340 different molecules in interstellar space, but no sugar had been directly detected.
Professor Mark Sephton from Imperial College London, who was not involved in the study, described the discovery as important evidence supporting the idea that the Solar System may have been "seeded" with organic compounds long before the formation of the Earth.
"Sugar and sugar-related compounds have been found in asteroids, but their discovery in interstellar space reinforces suggestions that our solar system may have been seeded with pre-existing organic compounds ," he said.
Professor Yoshihiro Furukawa from Tohoku University in Japan, part of the team that discovered sugars in samples from the asteroid Bennu, also described the discovery as very significant.
"This discovery is very interesting, as we have been waiting for a real discovery like this ," he said.
According to researchers, during the period known as the Late Heavy Bombardment, about 4 billion years ago, millions of tons of this sugar may have arrived on Earth via asteroids and comets, creating the conditions for the development of chemistry that later led to the birth of life.
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