Detection of a Four-Carbon Sugar in Interstellar Space

Scientists have detected four-carbon sugars in interstellar space, adding to the evidence on how life began. Hackaday reports that researchers using radio telescopes in Spain found erythrulose in a molecular cloud near the Milky Way's center. The sugar formed on cosmic dust grains from simpler compounds and may have provided energy for early life processes. Since this same sugar is abundant in Earth's fruits, its detection in space offers a tantalizing clue to life's chemical origins.

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