Ah grey-whiskers sugar is VERY important in DNA (in fact it is part of DNA). Wrong end of my question...;-)
We know how heavy elements are formed in the
ever-popular interstellar furnacesTM but I have not yet
heard or read how sugars have formed.
Unless your implication is that the sugars are the
remains of "life, Jim, but not as we know it."
I would need to know more about the total mass of sugar,
its density (in space, not in crystal form, wise guy)
whether it contains asymmetric carbon sites,
and whether it is a racemic mixture
before venturing on serious comment.
You could just look at the molecular structure of glycolaldehyde to see if there it is optically active. It isn't.
grey_whiskers,
You may want to go here
http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2000/ast20jun_1.htm
Glycolaldehyde, a simple sugar molecule, was found in a giant cloud of gas and dust near the center of the Milky Way. When combined with other molecules more complex sugars, such as Ribose (Ribose is the building block for both RNA and DNA) and Glucose, are formed. Ergo my DNA comment.