Natural sugar discovered in interstellar dust cloud near centre of Milky Way

Astronomers have detected the sugar erythrulose in a dust cloud near the Milky Way's centre, the first such discovery in interstellar space.

• Dr. Izaskun Jiménez-Serra and her team used two Spanish radio telescopes to observe the cloud G+0.693‑0.027 and identified the signature of erythrulose.
• Jiménez-Serra said the detection is the first sugar found in interstellar space and indicates that such compounds are more common than previously believed.
• The researchers estimated that millions of tonnes of erythrulose could have rained down on Earth during the Late Heavy Bombardment, potentially contributing to early prebiotic chemistry.
• Prof. Yoshihiro Furukawa, who discovered sugars on the Bennu asteroid, said the finding confirms that sugars formed in the interstellar medium can reach planets via cometary dust.