【ELSI】A new way to detect life beyond Earth without knowing what life looks like

―Researchers propose a population-scale biosignature based on how life may spread between planets―

A research team of Specially Appointed Associate Professor Harrison B. Smith of Earth-Life Science Institute (ELSI) has developed a new approach to detecting life beyond Earth that does not rely on identifying specific biological markers. Instead, the study suggests that life may be detectable through patterns emerging across groups of planets, offering a new framework for astrobiology in situations where traditional biosignatures are ambiguous or unreliable.

Image. Iterative terraformation
Credit: Harrison B. Smith

Reference
Harrison B. Smith and Lana Sinapayen. An Agnostic Biosignature Based on Modeling Panspermia and Terraforming. The Astrophysical Journal. DOI:10.3847/1538-4357/ae4ee3

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