Sugar Among the Stars: Erythrulose Detected in Interstellar Space

Astronomers have detected erythrulose, a four-carbon sugar, in a giant interstellar gas cloud near the Milky Way’s center, suggesting sugars are more common in space than previously thought and could seed prebiotic chemistry by enabling ribonucleotide formation, challenging the idea that sugars form only through gradual, carbon-by-carbon buildup.