[8] Glycolaldehyde can be synthesized by the oxidation of ethylene glycol using hydrogen peroxide in the presence of iron(II) sulfate.

Two glycolaldehydes condense to form erythrose 4-phosphate,[citation needed] which goes to the pentose phosphate shunt again.

[10] The presence of this glycolaldehyde in this reaction demonstrates how it might play an important role in the formation of the chemical building blocks of life.

[11][12] In the laboratory, amino acids[13] and short dipeptides[14] have been shown to catalyze the formation of complex sugars from glycolaldehyde.

[15] This formation showed stereospecific, catalytic synthesis of D-ribose, the only naturally occurring enantiomer of ribose.

Since the detection of this organic compound, many theories have been developed related various chemical routes to explain its formation in stellar systems.

The abundances of the products slightly disagree with the observed values found in IRAS 16293-2422, but this can be accounted for by temperature changes.

Ethylene Glycol and glycolaldehyde require temperatures above 30 K.[16][17] The general consensus among the astrochemistry research community is in favor of the grain surface reaction hypothesis.

[22][23] Observation of in-falling glycolaldehyde spectra 60 AU from IRAS 16293-2422 suggests that complex organic molecules may form in stellar systems prior to the formation of planets, eventually arriving on young planets early in their formation.

With temperatures as cold as 4 Kelvin, the gases within the cloud will freeze and fasten themselves to the dust, which provides the reaction conditions conducive for the formation of complex molecules such as glycolaldehyde.