Detecting signs of life in biotic–abiotic mixtures using pyrolysis–gas chromatography–mass spectrometry and machine learning

Biosignature detection is at the forefront of modern astrobiology and paleobiology research. Previous studies have demonstrated that machine learning models trained on data from pyrolysis–gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (py–GC–MS) can distinguish purely biotic and abiotic specimens from one another, as well as identify differences among contemporary biotic and ancient biotic samples. However, if life exists beyond Earth, its organics may be mixed with abiotic organics from, e.g., those deri