Exoplanet. © NASA
Scientists have come up with a new way to search for life in space without looking for specific signs like oxygen or methane.
The team, led by Harrison B. Smith and Lana Sinapayen, suggests that instead of studying one planet at a time, we should look at patterns across many planets.
Finding life is hard because common “biosignatures” (such as certain gases) can also be produced by non-living processes, leading to false alarms. Even signals from advanced civilizations (technosignatures) depend on big assumptions about alien behavior.
So the researchers tried a different idea: life might reveal itself through its overall impact on groups of planets, not just individual ones.
They created simulations showing that if life spreads between planets and changes their environments over time, it leaves behind patterns. These patterns show up as links between where planets are and what they’re like.
Importantly, this method can hint at life even if no clear sign is found on a single planet.
It can also help scientists figure out which planets are most likely to host life by grouping similar planets and spotting the ones most affected.
“By focusing on how life spreads and interacts with environments, we can search for it without needing a perfect definition or a single definitive signal,” said Harrison B. Smith. Lana Sinapayen added, “Even if life elsewhere is fundamentally different from life on Earth, its large-scale effects, such as spreading and modifying planets, may still leave detectable traces. That’s what makes this approach compelling.”
Why it matters:
This approach could make the search for life more reliable by reducing false positives and helping scientists focus on the most promising planets, saving valuable telescope time and improving our chances of finding life beyond Earth.
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