Get unlimited access to everything VICE has to offer.

Turn off all ads on VICE.com

Exclusive New VICE Documentaries

Member Exclusive Features & Columns

Turn off all ads on VICE.com

Exclusive New VICE Documentaries

Member Exclusive Features & Columns

Turn off all ads on VICE.com

Exclusive New VICE Documentaries

Member Exclusive Features & Columns

4 Magazines Delivered to Your Door

Scientists Just Found Sugar Thousands of Light-Years From Earth. Here’s What That Means for Alien Life.

Share on X (Opens in new window)X

Share on Facebook (Opens in new window)Facebook

Share using Native toolsShareCopied to clipboard

We’ve spent decades wondering if there’s complex alien life out here and whether it’ll be terrifying invaders or sweet and friendly like E.T. While we wait for either one of them to show up, we did end up finding something literally sweet: sugar. Specifically, erythrulose, a naturally occurring sugar found in raspberries and other foods, has been detected floating through interstellar space.

According to a paper published in Nature Astronomy, reported by The New York Times, sugar comes from a massive cloud of gas and dust near the center of the Milky Way. Using radio telescopes in Spain, astronomers identified erythrulose by matching its unique radio signature........

© Vice