Scientists claim to have found evidence of alien life. But ‘biosignatures’ might hide more than they reveal
Campbell Rider, PhD Candidate in Philosophy of Biology, University of Sydney
Whether or not we’re alone in the universe is one of the biggest questions in science.
A recent study, led by astrophysicist Nikku Madhusudhan at the University of Cambridge, suggests the answer might be no. Based on observations from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, the study points to alien life on K2-18b, a distant exoplanet 124 light years from Earth.
The researchers found strong evidence of a chemical called dimethyl sulfide (DMS) in the planet’s atmosphere. On Earth, DMS is produced...