Last month, astronomers made headlines using the James WebSpace Telescope, announcing that they were looking for chemical dementiatal sulfide (DMS) and dementiael dilfide (DMDS) at Explinite K2-18B, located 124 years away from Earth. These chemicals are manufactured only by life, such as the marine troops on the earth, that is, they are considered to be the potential “biochemicals” of life identifying. The recent follow -up research raises the question of this search. A new research led by Chicago University researchers re -interpreted the James WebSpace Telescope (JWST) data and proved to be less convincing for the DMS.
To weaken signals
According to a recent Archive Print, it cannot be reviewed yet, Rafael Luke, Caroline Polyt-Goriab, and Michael Zhang used a joint approach by combining all JWST observations of their main devices (Nerus, Nair Speak, and Marie). They found that the DMS signal is significantly weakened when all the data is considered together. Differences in data processing and modeling between original studies also cause doubt about preliminary results.
According to the team, even when signals like DMS appear, they are weak, contradictory, and often can be explained by non -biological molecules such as ethan. Researchers emphasized the importance of constant modeling to avoid contradictory interpretations of the planet environment.
Varnifer complexity
In the environment of an expatilitatic environment, molecules are usually detected through the venture analysis, which indicates a unique “chemical fingerprint” based on how the planet environment absorbs specific wavelengths of star light because it passes in front of its host star or transit.
The difference between DMS and ethan is just a joint molecule in the explanatic environment, and existing spectrumors, including JWST, have impressive sensitivity, but still facing its limits. The distance of the expatriates, the unconscious of the gestures, and the complexity of the environment means distinguishing between the molecules that are different from just one atom. The recent claim to detect DMS “3 Sigma” is less than scientific standards for verification. The team calls for more stringent standards in both scientific posts and media reporting.
