One of the many frustrating factors that complicate the search for extraterrestrial life is the time and resources spent analyzing false signals. Molecules such as amino acids and fatty acids, which are commonly associated with signs of biological life, can also form in places where life has never existed.
Amino acids have turned up in meteorites, and fatty acids can develop in deep space without any biological input. This overlap between biological and nonbiological chemistry is a recurring challenge for astrobiologists.
Now, a new study in Nature Astronomy suggests that, instead of searching for new types of molecules, scientists should adopt a different approach. Researchers from the Weizmann Institute of Science and the University of California, Riverside, say that biological life leaves a statistical signature that can be found in the molecular data spacecraft are already collecting.
“We’re showing that life does not only produce molecules,” said Fabian Klenner, a UC Riverside assistant professor of planetary sciences and co-author of the study. “Life also produces an organizational principle that we can see by applying statistics.”
To read more, click here.