Astronomers discover sugar in space that's also found in raspberries: "Just floating out in the galaxy"

CBS News ^ | July 13, 2026 | Staff

[Twotone]

The space between stars just got a little sweeter.

Astronomers have detected a type of sugar in space that's also found in raspberries and self-tanners. The sugar, called erythrulose, lurks in what's called the interstellar medium: thin clouds of gas and dust littered between stars.

Sugar does more than sweeten tea and powder doughnuts. Different varieties fuel our cells and even make up DNA. Scientists are itching to know how sugars form because they're a key ingredient for life as we know it.

Using two dish-shaped radio telescopes in Spain, researchers collected data from a large gas cloud near the center of the Milky Way. They identified the sugar in gas form by comparing telescope signals to samples in the lab. It's the latest kind of sugar detected in space — in a region crossed by NASA's twin Voyager, the farthest spacecraft to ever travel from Earth.

The results were published Monday in the journal Nature Astronomy.

Scientists have found interesting chemistry in our galaxy, including building blocks for genetic material and parts of the cell. They spotted a cousin to table sugar near the center of the Milky Way about 25 years ago, and black grains from asteroid Bennu retrieved by NASA's Osiris-Rex spacecraft yielded other sugars and a "gum-like substance."

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TOPICS: Astronomy; Miscellaneous; Science
KEYWORDS: astronomy; erythrulose; outerspace; panspermia; science; sugar; xplanets

[cgbg]

“Science” has become a laughingstock.

The “experts” have zero credibility.

[SuperLuminal]

Yeah! Sure!

[Dr. Sivana]

So that’s where the Archies went.

Arguably, this group from the same era:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rtp8WSAzrGw&list=RDrtp8WSAzrGw&start_radio=1

[x]

Sugar in space
And everything nice ...

[SteveH]

I went out to look in space for some sugar,

but all i found was a bunch of “HOs”

I dunno, maybe there was some “HOHOs” that I missed

[Bob434]

Sweet!

[clearcarbon]

"Astronomers discover sugar in space that's also found in raspberries: 'Just floating out in the galaxy'"

Greetings earthlings. Take me to your dentist.

[DannyTN]

[Red Badger]

[Red Badger]

"...Using two dish-shaped radio telescopes in Spain, ..."

[Red Badger]

I had that album...............

[dfwgator]

[SunkenCiv]

The discoverer? Eric Carmen.

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[Ueriah]

I for one welcome our new raspberry overlords.

[Ueriah]

I for one welcome our new raspberry overlords.

[MayflowerMadam]

Super interesting!

[MayflowerMadam]

“Killer Tomatoes are worse!”

What about popcorn? I saw an old B&W sci fi movie recently and the meteors were popped popcorn. At first I thought it was hilarious, but maybe meteors ARE giant pieces of popcorn.

[MayflowerMadam]

I hate it when guys’ hair is better than mine. Not fair.

[Sirius Lee]

NASA's Osiris-Rex spacecraft yielded other sugars and a "gum-like substance."

You can be my new friend and i will call you Blobby.

[Harpotoo]

Sweet!-)