Space exploration just got sweeter as scientists say they have discovered a type of sugar called erythrulose in outer space.
The discovery marks the first time true sugar has been spotted in outer space. Erythrulose is also found in raspberries and self-tanners.
Astronomers at the Spanish National Research Council in Madrid, using Spain's Yebes 40-metre and IRAM 30-metre radio telescopes for deeper observations, spotted the specific fingerprint of wavelengths emitted by the molecule.
Scientists hope this discovery will help clarify how life started on Earth. Sugars help power our cells and are also a part of our DNA. The molecule found in a cluster of thin clouds of gas and dust between stars, called the interstellar medium, is a compound with four carbon atoms.
According to Nature.com, Brett McGuire, an astrochemist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, called it an incredible discovery, saying that "astronomers have, for a very long time, been pushing to detect sugar in space.”
With the role sugar plays in DNA and being a source of fuel to our cells, scientists theorise that it is essential to understanding the origin of life.
Another related theory proposed by science states that if this kind of sugar exists in molecular clouds in space, then they could have been transported by asteroids and comets, which have bombarded Earth about four billion years ago and could have brought sugar molecules to Earth. This theory, they say, is relevant to understanding the origins of life on Earth.
Researchers collected data from a large cloud of gas found close to the centre of the Milky Way. They were able to identify the sugar in this gas by comparing telescope signals to lab samples.
Although the form the sugar was discovered in is not essential to life, scientists think that it can easily convert to a form that could have helped to kickstart life on Earth.
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An Azerbaijani citizen died and another is missing after a cargo ship was attacked by a drone in the Black Sea, near the coast of Romania on Monday, 5 October, Baku's Foreign Ministry has said.
Russia struck Ukraine overnight in one of the biggest attacks of the conflict, killing at least 19 people, Kyiv's Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday. Around 70 missiles were fired at Ukraine during the attack, as well as drones, the Ministry said.
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OpenAI and Anthropic told Australian parliament on Tuesday they would welcome laws requiring them to report data breaches carried out by their AI agents, acknowledging the decision to notify authorities was currently at their discretion.
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A four-person crew aboard SpaceX's Crew-13 mission, consisting of two U.S. astronauts, a Canadian astronaut and a Russian cosmonaut, arrived at the International Space Station (ISS) on Thursday (1 October), for a long-duration science mission focused on human health and performance in orbit.
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