Radio telescopes in Spain detect erythrose in Milky Way cloud
Technology
Scientists just found a natural sugar called erythrulose floating in a cloud near the center of our Milky Way, about 26,700 light-years away.
This cloud is famous for its rich mix of chemicals and star-making activity.
The discovery happened thanks to radio telescopes in Spain.
Erythrulose could form life's precursors
By picking up faint radio signals, researchers confirmed erythrulose's unique chemical fingerprint, making it the first-ever sugar spotted in deep space.
While this sugar isn't directly used by living things, it can turn into more important sugars under certain conditions.
That means ingredients for life might form in cold space long before planets exist, hinting that the universe was primed for life way earlier than we thought.