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Detection of a four-carbon sugar in interstellar space

Jiménez-Serra et al. 2026, Nature Astronomy

In this work, we report the detection of the first sugar in the ISM, erythrulose. Erythrulose is a four-carbon sugar that easily isomerises in aqueous enviroments yielding threose, a key sugar in the synthesis of threose nucleic acids (or TNAs), the simplest nucleic acids, and proposed to have been the first ones emerging in the model of a pre-RNA world.
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Chemistry in Dark Molecular Clouds

Aikawa, Jiménez-Serra, & Caselli 2026, ARA&A

We review our curren knowledge on the chemistry of dark molecular clouds, from clouds within the Solar neighbourhood to Giant Molecular Clouds across the Galaxy, from the Galactic Center to the outer part of the Milky Way and nearby galaxies characterized by low metallicity conditions.
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Chemical modelling of interstellar MgS

Rey-Montejo, Jiménez-Serra et al. A&A

Here, we report the chemical modelling of the metal sulfide MgS, using new quantum chemical calculations and the astrochemical code UCLCHEM. Our results show that MgS is mainly formed via gas phase reactions, in particular, through the reaction MgH + S -> MgS + H, reproducing well the observed abundance for this metal sulfide toward the Galactic Center molecular cloud G+0.693.
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Izaskun Jimenez-Serra receives the Young Female Researcher Award in Physics and Chemistry by the Royal Academy of Sciences.

Read more details about these awards here.
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A detection of sulfur-bearing cyclic hydrocarbons in space

Araki et al. 2026, Nature Astronomy

In this work, we report the first detection in the ISM of a sulfur-bearing cyclic hydrocarbon, 2,5-cyclohexadien-1-thione, a structural isomer of thiophenol (c-C6H6S).
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A fast machine learning tool to predict the composition of interstellar ices from IR absorption spectra (AICE)

Megías et al. 2025, A&A, 702, A87

In this work, we present the new tool AICE, which analyses IR ice absorption spectra by using neural networks. We apply this tool to recent JWST Ice Age data toward the highly extincted stars NIR38 and J110621.
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The conglomeratic nature of methanol clusters on graphene surfaces

García de la Concepción et al. 2025, RSC Advances, vol. 15, 16, 12246

In this work, we show how CH3OH clusters can form chiral structures on graphene surfaces. These structures can remain intact at temperatures as high as 120-150 K, representing a plausible mechanism for the origin of homochirality under ISM conditions.
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Conformational isomerism of methyl formate: discovery of the higher-energy trans-conformer in the ISM

Sanz-Novo et al. 2025, A&A, 698A, 36S

We present the detections of trans-methyl formate toward the Galactic Center molecular cloud G+0.693-0.027 and the protostellar shock L1157-B1, providing definite observational evidence of its presence in the ISM.
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OPENS visits the Spanish Prime Minister for the Day of Europe

09/05/2025 OPENS visits La Moncloa Palace

In this meeting, the PI Izaskun Jiménez-Serra explains the goals of OPENS and the importance of the ERC grant funding for the future of Spanish research, to the Spanish Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez.
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On the abiotic origin of dimethyl sulfide: Discovery in the interstellar medium

Sanz-Novo et al. 2025, ApJL, 980, L37

We report the discovery of dimethyl sulfide (CH3SCH3), a recently proposed exoplanet biomarker, in the interstellar medium. These results show that this molecule can be formed abiotically under interstellar conditions and could contribute to the chemical composition of cometesimals and planetesimals.
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Discovery of MgS and NaS in the ISM and Tentative Detection of CaO

Rey-Montejo et al. 2024, ApJ, 975, 174R

We report the first detection of the metal-bearing molecules sodium sulfide and magnesium sulfide and the tentative detection of calcium monoxide in the interstellar medium toward the Galactic center molecular cloud G+0.693-0.027.
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Modelling methanol and hydride formation in the JWST Ice Age era

Jiménez-Serra et al. 2025, A&A, 695A, 247J

We present the chemical modelling of the ice composition measured toward the Chamaeleon I molecular cloud with the JWST. This is the first time that multiple state-of-the-art astrochemical codes are used collaboratively to understand the formation of methanol (CH3OH) and of hydrides such as NH3 and CH4.
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Chemistry in the Galactic Center

Jiménez-Serra et al. 2025, to appear in the proceedings of Kavli-IAU 383 Astrochemistry Symposium

This contribution reviews our current understanding of the chemistry in Galactic Center molecular clouds, and summarize the recent detections toward G+0.693-0.027 of key precursors of prebiotic chemistry.
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