In previous studies, scientists discovered a compound called “ethyl formate” that floats among the stars in the inner regions of our galaxy and contributes to the distinctive smell and taste of raspberries.
With recent research, astronomers have also found the sugar that can be sprinkled on this cosmic flavor. In the same region at the center of the Milky Way, “erythrulose,” the first true sugar molecule ever detected in interstellar space, was discovered.
Although this candy is not an edible snack for living beings as it is mixed with toxic chemicals in space, it reveals the chemical richness in the depths of the universe.
The origin of life could lie in chemistry in space
All life on Earth depends directly on the sugar molecules that cells use to produce energy and build their genetic structures, DNA and RNA.
Scientists have long been trying to figure out how these vital sugars were formed in the early days of Earth's formation. Experiments conducted in a laboratory setting show that conditions on Earth at the time could not produce these sugars in sufficient quantities to initiate life.
The latest discovery shows that these complex sugars, necessary for life, originated on ice-covered dust particles in space before the existence of the solar system and may have been transported to Earth from outside.
A universe that is much more complex than expected
To make this discovery, the research team led by cosmochemist Izaskun Jiménez-Serra from the Spanish Center for Astrobiology pointed two powerful radio telescopes in Spain at a huge gas cloud at the center of the galaxy.
By studying the unique radio signals emitted by molecules as they rotate in space, experts have conclusively proven the existence of the four-carbon sugar erythrulose. With its 14-atom structure, this sugar became one of the largest complex molecules ever discovered in space.
These results, published in the journal Nature Astronomy, show that much more complex chemical reactions are occurring at the center of our galaxy than expected and that the building blocks of life could be widespread throughout the universe.
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