Posted on 09/15/2014 1:56:01 PM PDT by BenLurkin
The good news is that, despite trying very hard to come up with false positives, researchers only found a few to look out for: oxygen, ozone and methane.
As lone wolves, these molecules were thought to be signs of life all by themselves, but it turns out they can be produced inorganically -- that is, in the absence of anything living as we know it.
Your best bet is to look for them together.
"Our research strengthens the argument that methane and oxygen together, or methane and ozone together, are still strong signatures of life," said Shawn Domagal-Goldman of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland and the study's lead author. "We tried really, really hard to make false-positive signals for life, and we did find some, but only for oxygen, ozone, or methane by themselves."
Use the dorm-room pizza test
Think of the relationship between methane and oxygen as you would the relationship between pizza and college kids. Methane won't last long in a room full of oxygen just like you wouldn't expect pizza to last long in a room full of cheap, hungry students.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
“Dammit Jim, I’m a doctor not a bricklayer” (nor a pizza chef)
Have any of these tips worked?
My diving rod works about as well for finding alien life.
Either:
A. There is no intelligent life elsewhere than earth.
B. Interstellar space travel is impossible.
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