Researchers at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa have successfully created a highly unstable alcohol molecule once thought impossible to observe, using conditions that mimic outer space. The compound, called methanetetrol, has now been confirmed for the first time after more than a century of scientific speculation. The breakthrough suggests that this so-called super alcohol can form in the extreme environments of deep space, challenging long-held assumptions in both chemistry and astronomy. The team produced methanetetrol by replicating the harsh conditions of interstellar clouds—environments filled with ice, radiation, and near-vacuum pressure. The molecule stands out because it carries four hydroxyl...