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Scientists using the James Webb Telescope have detected potential biosignatures, gases linked to life, on exoplanet K2-18 b, marking a major step in the search for extraterrestrial life. While not confirmed, the findings offer a strong "maybe".
In what could be a major step in the search for extraterrestrial life, scientists using the James Webb Space Telescope have detected chemical signatures in the atmosphere of exoplanet K2-18 b that may indicate biological activity. The gases, dimethyl sulfide (DMS) and dimethyl disulfide (DMDS) are, on Earth, only produced by living organisms, mainly marine microbes like phytoplankton. While not a confirmation of life, researchers consider this a promising biosignature that warrants cautious optimism.
Astrophysicist Nikku Madhusudhan from the University of Cambridge, lead author of the study published in Astrophysical Journal Letters, called it a groundbreaking moment. He said the findings suggest it's now possible to detect signs of life on habitable planets using existing tools, marking the beginning of a new era in astrobiology.
K2-18 b is located about 124 light-years away in the Leo constellation, orbiting a small red dwarf star in the "habitable zone" where liquid water could exist. The planet is roughly 8.6 times the mass of Earth and is believed to be a "hycean world", possibly covered by oceans and with a hydrogen-rich atmosphere, ideal for microbial life.
Previous Webb observations found methane and carbon dioxide on the planet. Now, using different instruments and wavelengths, scientists have identified DMS or DMDS with 99.7% confidence, concentrations thousands of times higher than on Earth, which cannot easily be explained by non-biological processes.
Though researchers are excited, they emphasize that more observations and theoretical studies are necessary to rule out non-living chemical sources. Confirming these findings will require repeated measurements and rigorous testing.
Experts not involved in the study agree the data is compelling but urge careful validation. The long-standing question of whether we are alone in the universe may be closer to an answer, but for now, the evidence remains a strong "maybe".
Video from the USGS (United States Geological Survey) showed on Friday (19 September) the Kilauea volcano in Hawaii erupting and spewing lava.
At least eight people have died and more than 90 others were injured following a catastrophic gas tanker explosion on a major highway in Mexico City’s Iztapalapa district on Wednesday, authorities confirmed.
At least 69 people have died and almost 150 injured following a powerful 6.9-magnitude earthquake off the coast of Cebu City in the central Visayas region of the Philippines, officials said, making it one of the country’s deadliest disasters this year.
Authorities in California have identified the dismembered body discovered in a Tesla registered to singer D4vd as 15-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez, who had been missing from Lake Elsinore since April 2024.
A powerful 7.4-magnitude earthquake struck off Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula on 13 September with no tsunami threat, coming just weeks after the region endured a devastating 8.8-magnitude quake — the strongest since 1952.
From Sunday, all non-EU citizens, including British visitors, will face new biometric checks when entering and exiting the European Union under its long-delayed Entry/Exit System (EES).
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences announced that the 2025 Nobel Prize in Chemistry has been awarded to Susumu Kitagawa of Kyoto University, Richard Robson of the University of Melbourne, and Omar Yaghi of the University of California.
The 2025 Nobel Prize in Physics has been awarded to John Clarke, Michel H. Devoret, and John M. Martinis for their groundbreaking discovery of macroscopic quantum mechanical tunnelling and energy quantisation in electric circuits.
United States chipmaker AMD will supply artificial intelligence chips to OpenAI in a multi-year agreement that could generate tens of billions of dollars in annual revenue and give the ChatGPT maker the option to acquire up to 10% of the company.
The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2025 has been awarded jointly to Mary E. Brunkow, Fred Ramsdell, and Shimon Sakaguchi for their ground breaking discoveries on peripheral immune tolerance.
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