Scientists have found sugar in interstellar space for the first time: erythrose, a simple compound known from raspberries and self-tanning products, was discovered in a vast cloud of gas and dust near the centre of the Milky Way, N1 reports.
Researchers believe that erythrose is formed by chemical reactions on tiny grains of interstellar dust. Such compounds can subsequently reach planets — directly or via comets colliding with them.
"This is the first sugar ever discovered in interstellar space and it is important because it shows that such compounds are more common than we previously thought," said Dr Izasku Jiménez-Serra of the Spanish Institute of Astrobiology near Madrid.
The discovery does not indicate the existence of extraterrestrial civilisations, but it shows that compounds essential for the emergence of life can form in the cold space between stars. According to Jiménez-Serra, it also opens up the possibility that life on other worlds has developed in a similar way to that on Earth.
