The factor that the Comet Lovejoy contains ethyl alcohol and a simple saccharide is not unexpected; this paper does however mark the first identification of the

The factor that the Comet Lovejoy contains ethyl alcohol and a simple saccharide is not unexpected; this paper does however mark the first identification of these organic molecules in a comet. Astronomers have previously detected both of these, along with plenty of other complex organic molecules, in other regions of the Milky Way (e.g., https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_interstellar_and_circumstellar_molecules https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_interstellar_and_circu...).