Astronomers detect erythrulose sugar in the interstellar medium, offering new clues to how life’s building blocks form between stars in the Milky Way.

Erythrulose, which has four carbon atoms, is the most complex sugar spotted beyond our Solar System.

Astronomers have detected a type of sugar in space that’s also found in raspberries. The sugar, called erythrulose, lurks in interstellar space, or the space between stars.

Erythrulose—a sugar found in raspberries—is also prevalent in a giant molecular cloud close to our galaxy’s core, scientists have discovered