A recent astronomical discovery could rewrite our understanding of the origin of life in the universe. Scientists have identified a complex sugar called erythrulose in vapor form within an interstellar cloud in the Milky Way. This finding offers new perspectives on how fundamental chemical components could have formed even before the emergence of our solar system.
Raspberries, galaxies, and cosmic sugars
Sugars, beyond sweetening our foods, are essential for life as we know it, as they are crucial for fueling cells and structuring DNA. The detection of erythrulose in deep space suggests that these key elements could have been present in the cosmos long before any cometary intervention.
This discovery reinforces the theory that the precursor molecules of life did not arrive exclusively through comets but already existed in interstellar space. The historic Voyager probes from NASA have also passed through regions where this exotic sugar floats, consolidating the idea of a chemically fertile universe.
Although erythrulose is not vital for current life, its ability to transform into other more important variants could have been a crucial step in the chemical evolution of life. Erika Hamden, an astrophysicist at the University of Arizona, describes this sugar as one of the most complex found in the galaxy, highlighting its abundance in space.
The research, published in Nature Astronomy, was led by Izaskun Jiménez-Serra from the Astrobiology Center in Spain. Her team used radio telescopes at Yebes and Pico Veleta to identify the spectroscopic “fingerprint” of erythrulose. This spectroscopic analysis allowed them to identify 12 lines matching the structure of this sugar, previously measured in a laboratory at the University of the Basque Country.
The results suggest that this compound is at least eight times more abundant than other similar sugars in the studied region. Scientists believe that erythrulose forms on the icy surface of interstellar dust grains when two organic precursors, such as alcohols and aldehydes, combine.
This process, compared to “joining Lego blocks to create larger structures“, highlights the sophistication of the chemical reactions occurring in space. On a planetary level, the potential impact of this molecular factory becomes evident.
Based on the amount of erythrulose detected, researchers estimate that between half a million and 50 million tons of this sugar could have reached Earth during the period known as the Late Heavy Bombardment, potentially influencing the primordial chemistry of our planet.
