US EditionPossible sign of life in deep space faces new doubts
- Astronomers led by Cambridge University announced in April they detected possible biosignatures, DMS and DMDS, in K2-18b's atmosphere 124 light years away.
- This claim arose from James Webb Space Telescope data, but several follow-up studies have found insufficient evidence and questioned the statistical significance.
- Researchers expanded chemical models from 20 to 650 possible molecules, finding some promising candidates but concluding DMS and DMDS lacked strong statistical support.
- The detection reached a three-sigma significance level, meaning a 0.3% chance of being a false positive, but critics warned the data remain too noisy and preliminary.
- Astronomers and critics agree more observations are needed, emphasizing caution and robust debate before confirming biosignatures on K2-18b or claiming extraterrestrial life.
112 Articles
112 Articles
Clouds Could Enhance the Search for Life on Exoplanets
A team of geophysicists from the University of Chicago showed how clouds on exoplanets could enhance the search for biosignatures. Their findings could have significant implications for the Habitable Worlds Observatory (HWO) and other next-generation telescopes that will study exoplanets via direct imaging.
Is the bar higher for scientific claims of alien life?
Nasa / JPLThe search for extraterrestrial life has long gone back and forth between scientific curiosity, public fascination and outright scepticism. Recently, scientists claimed the “strongest evidence” of life on a distant exoplanet – a world outside our solar system. Grandiose headlines often promise proof that we are not alone, but scientists remain cautious. Is this caution unique to the field of astrobiology? In truth, major scientific bre…
Prominent traces of life on Exoplanet K2-18b create a controversy. Researchers are now presenting a new analysis – with sobering results.
Is It Alien Life – or Just Ethane? Scientists Reassess Webb Telescope Discovery
Scientists recently spotted a molecule on a far-off planet they thought might signal life. But now, new research says that reading was likely just ordinary gas—and the evidence isn’t nearly as solid as it first seemed. In April, scientists sparked excitement around the world with a bold announcement: they had detected a molecule in the [...]
So far science has never searched for life with such intensity in other worlds. And it has never had such instruments available. It is no longer a matter of 'if', but 'when', many believe...
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