Home > Terms > English, UK (UE) > Simple sugar molecule
Simple sugar molecule
Also called glycolaldehyde, the simple sugar molecule is composed of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen and plays a key role in the chemical reaction that forms ribonucleic acid (RNA), a crucial biomolecule present in all living cells.
Simple sugar molecules are found abundantly on Earth, usually in the form of an odourless white powder with a sweet taste. However, sugar has never been found in outer space until recently. In August 2012, a team of European and American astronomers said they had spotted a simple sugar molecule in a gas cloud surrounding a 10,000-year-old star similar to the sun. The star, called IRAS 16293-2422, is about 400 light years from Earth. Simple sugar molecule or glycolaldehyde are likely formed by radiation from the star hitting even simpler molecules floating through space.
- Part of Speech: noun
- Synonym(s):
- Blossary:
- Industry/Domain: Astronomy
- Category: Planetary science
- Company:
- Product:
- Acronym-Abbreviation:
Other Languages:
Member comments
Terms in the News
Featured Terms
Mike Wallace
Mike Wallace (May 9, 1918 – April 7, 2012) was an American journalist best known as one of the original correspondents for the TV Magazine 60 Minutes ...
Contributor
Featured blossaries
tim.zhaotianqi
0
Terms
40
Blossaries
4
Followers
Buying used car in United States
Browers Terms By Category
- Journalism(537)
- Newspaper(79)
- Investigative journalism(44)
News service(660) Terms
- Physical geography(2496)
- Geography(671)
- Cities & towns(554)
- Countries & Territories(515)
- Capitals(283)
- Human geography(103)
Geography(4630) Terms
- Bread(293)
- Cookies(91)
- Pastries(81)
- Cakes(69)
Baked goods(534) Terms
- Action toys(4)
- Skill toys(3)
- Animals & stuffed toys(2)
- Educational toys(1)
- Baby toys(1)
Toys and games(11) Terms
- Alcohol & Hydroxybenzene & Ether(29)
- Pigments(13)
- Organic acids(4)
- Intermediates(1)