Scientists have proposed a new method for searching for signs of life on other worlds in the Solar System. Instead of focusing on individual chemical compounds, they suggest analyzing statistical patterns in organic molecules.
Problem with a single marker
The traditional approach to searching for biomarkers involves identifying specific substances: oxygen, methane, and nitrous oxide. The problem is that these same compounds can form without the involvement of living organisms. Meteorites, asteroids, and laboratory simulations of prebiotic conditions—all of them can contain amino acids and lipids, so their presence alone proves nothing.
Researchers from the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel and the University of California, Riverside, have developed a statistical system based on the concept of ecological diversity.
This concept originated in ecological theory, where it is used to describe the structure of biological populations: how many species are present and how evenly they are distributed. Scientists have applied the same logic to molecular sets—amino acids and fatty acids.
What the results showed
It turns out that amino acids of biotic origin are more diverse and more evenly distributed than those formed abiotically. The situation is the opposite for fatty acids: abiotic samples show a higher degree of uniformity in distribution.
It is important to note that these patterns remain stable even after the molecules have been significantly degraded. Among the samples studied were fossilized dinosaur eggs—and the statistical signal of biotic origin was preserved in them.
Where and how to use it
The authors specifically highlight Europa—a moon of Jupiter—where radiolysis is considered the primary factor in the breakdown of organic matter in the near-surface ice. Using this specific example, they simulated the degradation of molecules and confirmed that the method remains reliable even under such conditions. It does not replace other approaches, but it adds another independent line of evidence to future research.
“When different methods point in the same direction, it becomes very convincing,” said Fabian Klenner, a co-author of the study. The study was published in Nature Astronomy.
According to universetoday.com
