A sugar
molecule that's linked to the origin of life has been detected in a region of
our galaxy where habitable planets could exist. The sweet find is good news in
the search for alien life, the researchers say.
Called glycolaldehyde,
the sugar molecule is considered a life ingredient because it can react with a
substance called propenal to form ribose, a central constituent of ribonucleic
acid (RNA), which is similar to DNA and considered one of the central molecules
in the origin
of life.
An
international team of scientists used the IRAM radio telescope in France to detect glycolaldehyde in a massive star-forming region of space, some 26,000
light-years from Earth. (One light-year
is the distance light will travel in a year, or about 6 trillion miles, or 10
trillion km.)
They looked
for the emission of certain wavelengths within the radio part of the
electromagnetic spectrum. Molecules each emit a distinctive band of radio
wavelengths, which can be used as a fingerprint for the molecules.
"This
is an important discovery as it is the first time glycolaldehyde, a basic
sugar, has been detected towards a star-forming region where planets that could
potentially harbor life may exist," said researcher Serena Viti of the
University College London.
Previously,
the organic sugar
had been detected toward the center of our galaxy, where conditions are
extreme and not conducive to planet-forming compared with the rest of the
galaxy.
The new
discovery, which will be detailed in a forthcoming issue of Astrophysical
Journal Letters, was in an area distant from the galactic center. In
addition, the sugar was found in a swirl of gas and dust around a collection of
stars. "Possibly, this material is actually rotating around the stars,
which may imply that it's a disk and that's where planets may form," Viti told
SPACE.com.
She added, "Also
the fact that it's just a normal star-forming region suggests that the
production of this molecule could be common throughout the galaxy."
The
detection of one life ingredient also improves the chances that the molecule
exists alongside other molecules essential to life and in regions where
Earth-like planets may exist, she said.
"The
fact that a basic sugar so directly linked to RNA is common makes you think the
basic ingredients for life are out there," Viti said. "They're not
just on Earth."
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