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In a first,Scientists at Spain’s Centre for Astrobiology, with the University of the Basque Country and international partners, detect erythrulose, a four-carbon “true sugar,” in a Milky Way gas cloud. The team identifies it by matching laboratory-measured radio fingerprints with signals captured by the Yebes and IRAM telescopes. Although the molecule is not physically collected, the matching wavelengths confirm its presence in space. The discovery suggests that key chemical ingredients for life can form in interstellar clouds before planets, comets, and meteorites fully develop.
Monday, 13 July, 2026