The first organic molecules necessary for life, such as sugars and amino acids, are believed to have been transported through space by asteroids.

Scientists at the Centro de Astrobiología (CAB), CSIC-INTA in Madrid have identified a sugar, erythrulose, in a region in the center of the Milky Way. On Earth, it is found in raspberries. In space, it is synthesized—like many other molecules—in molecular clouds, which act as veritable “molecular nurseries.”

Vassilissa Vinogradoff and Grégoire Danger explain the significance of this discovery.

Link to the article in Liberation (subscriber access)

Link to the article in Courrier international