First sugar detected in the interstellar medium
By 
Mason Wakley2026-07-13T15:03:00
Erythrulose – a chiral four-carbon sugar – may have formed from simpler molecules on interstellar dust grains, computational studies suggest
Radio telescopes have detected a four-carbon sugar in the interstellar medium, which is the largest non-cyclic molecule and the first sugar to be identified. The researchers say this shows that chiral, prebiotic molecules can form and survive under the extreme conditions of space. Such molecules could have been brought to Earth via asteroids, helping to kickstart life on Earth, the researchers note.