Is there life on Mars? Or was there in its past? What about other planets?
US scientists believe an artificial intelligence algorithm may be able to provide a reliable test to answer these questions – considered the “Holy Grail of Astrobiology.”
The AI method developed at the Earth and Planets Laboratory at the US Carnegie Institution for Science can identify with 90% accuracy both present and ancient biological samples from those of inorganic origin.
The findings are detailed in a paper published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
“This routine analytical method has the potential to revolutionise the search for extraterrestrial life and deepen our understanding of both the origin and chemistry of the earliest life on Earth,” says research leader Dr Robert Hazen. “It opens the way to using smart sensors on robotic spacecraft, landers and rovers to search for signs of life before the samples return to Earth.”
It could also be used closer to home to analyse ancient rocks on Earth to determine if they contain signs of prehistoric life.
The technique could resolve mysteries such as including the origin of 3.5-billion-year-old black sediments from Western Australia. The samples are the subject of scientific debate with some researchers believing the sediments contain Earth’s oldest fossil microbes, while others claim they are inorganic.l
To read more, click here.