Scientists have detected a naturally occurring sugar in space, a discovery experts say could provide important clues about the origins of life and the possibility of life elsewhere in the universe.
Researchers detected a natural sugar called erythrulose in the direction of the central region of the Milky Way galaxy.
On Earth, erythrulose occurs naturally in fruits such as raspberries and is also used in some artificial tanning products.
Scientists say sugars are among the important building blocks associated with life. Related sugar molecules play key roles in the structure of DNA and RNA, while sugars also contribute to energy-producing processes in cells.
Researchers believe sugars may have played an important role in the emergence of life. However, it has remained unclear how such compounds could have formed under the conditions that existed before life emerged.
Laboratory experiments have suggested that producing certain sugars under prebiotic conditions is not straightforward.
The discovery of natural sugar in space could therefore help scientists investigate how the chemical ingredients required for life may have formed and whether similar building blocks exist in other parts of the universe.
Experts say the finding does not prove the existence of extraterrestrial life, but it could provide valuable evidence in the ongoing scientific effort to understand how life began on Earth and whether the basic ingredients for life are widespread across the cosmos.
